SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Gives You a Tingly Feeling’ Says British HR Director

SHARE
Shen Yun ‘Gives You a Tingly Feeling’ Says British HR Director
Simon Slidel at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham Hall, on Jan. 7., 2023. NTD

BIRMINGHAM, UK—Director Simon Slidel was mesmerized by Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham Hall on January 7.

“It was amazing, I got absolutely immersed in the culture of China,” said Mr. Slidel.

“I was quite emotional about it, it really gets to you … mesmerized by the colors and the costumes and the way everybody moves together—it gives you a tingly feeling!”

Shen Yun is based out of New York and has become the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through the universal languages of music and dance, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.

According to the company’s website, the presented heroes embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization and convey morals still relevant to the modern day.

Commenting on the importance of Shen Yun reviving traditions, Mr. Slidel said, “It takes you back to basics; it gives you the basic fundamentals of what humans should be and what they should believe in.”
In addition to the ancient wisdom of China’s legendary history, Mr. Slidel also greatly appreciated the dance stories that take place in modern times.

“It’s really important to think that history is always being made … it’s good to understand behind everything that is happening there is always traditions but also what is happening now … will become history in years to come.”

One of Shen Yun’s most unique features is its orchestra. It’s the first in the world to permanently combine classical Western and Chinese instruments within a Western symphony orchestra.
Shen Yun also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style.

“The singers were also out of this world,” said Mr. Slidel, “it gives you goosebumps and … just filled the room.”

“The effort that must go into the performance, I just think it’s phenomenal and they’ve done an outstanding job … I will be coming again next year.”

Dancers’ Emotions ‘Really Came Through’

Adrian Smythe at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham Hall, on Jan. 7, 2023. (NTD)
Adrian Smythe at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham Hall, on Jan. 7, 2023. NTD

Adrian Smythe, company owner, was likewise amazed by Shen Yun’s performance on Jan. 7. He admired the company’s mission to keep the classical art form alive by representing “different sorts of ethnicities” and the “different styles of dance.”

“I love the fact that they tell stories through dance,” he said, “the interpretive dance is always a wonderful way to get the imagination of the audience going with living into the story.”

Chinese Classical dance is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms in the world. According to the company’s website, classical Chinese dance involves a dance-acting element where coordinating facial expressions with physical movements results in an amplified form of expression.

“I think it’s really important for emotion to come across in the dance,” said Mr. Smythe, “I think that the dancers individually are feeling that emotion as well, and they’re quite keen to portray that which is definitely coming through for me.”

“Whether it’s a good guy or a bad guy in the scene … those emotions really came through,” he said, “that was really impressive.”

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
Related Topics
shen yun
SHARE