SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Beauty Pageant Winner: ‘I Feel Refreshed’ After Shen Yun

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Beauty Pageant Winner: ‘I Feel Refreshed’ After Shen Yun
Yuki Kawasaki at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Omiya Sonic City in Saitama, Japan, on Jan. 8, 2024. Wenliang Wang

SAITAMA, Japan—Yuki Kawasaki has won awards at multiple beauty pageants, and in 2022 she was selected to be a representative of Japan. On Jan. 8, she experienced Shen Yun Performing Arts and found herself feeling refreshed because of it.

“I feel refreshed,” said Ms. Kawasaki, who was particularly impressed with Shen Yun’s unique orchestra.

“I often enjoy symphonies, and Shen Yun’s orchestra included oriental instruments such as Erhu and Pipa, which made me feel like I was in China. It was very interesting,” she said.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and as Ms. Kawasaki observed, its orchestra combines traditional Chinese instruments with a classic Western ensemble, creating a unique blend of sounds.

“I used to play in an orchestra, so I was surprised by [Shen Yun’s] unique instrumentation. The musicians gave the music great energy,” said Ms. Kawasaki, who plays the harp.

Shen Yun’s digital backdrop fascinated Ms. Kawasaki. The backdrop allows the stage to be extended endlessly and gives the illusion of the characters flying in the sky or diving deep into the ocean.
“Each piece was executed with precision. I saw characters flying down from the digital backdrop, and then the real dancers appeared on the stage. How did they achieve such a perfect switch?” she said.

‘I found this to be fascinating’

Osamu Yamakuchi at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Omiya Sonic City in Saitama, Japan, on Jan. 8, 2024. (Niu Bin/The Epoch Times)
Osamu Yamakuchi at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Omiya Sonic City in Saitama, Japan, on Jan. 8, 2024. Niu Bin/The Epoch Times

Japan started the year as a victim of natural disasters. Osamu Yamakuchi, an IT company project manager, shared that seeing Shen Yun has renewed his optimism.

“Although various things will happen, we should maintain a positive attitude and move in a positive direction in the new year,” said Mr. Yamakuchi.

Although there is violence in the world, Mr. Yamakuchi found that Shen Yun’s performance was an ode to peace.

“[Shen Yun] showed people’s longing for peace, instead of fighting, as well as the value of love,” he said.

Shen Yun’s dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance forms in the world.

“I’ve seen Chinese movies before, but I’ve never seen Chinese dance, so I found this to be fascinating,” said Mr. Yamakuchi.

Classical Chinese dance is considered to be a complex dance form to master, and it requires great flexibility and strength from its dancers in order to perform the various leaps and spins.

“Their movements from fingertips to hands were beautiful. Their legs were raised high, and their balance was excellent. They could jump and turn effortlessly and smoothly,” praised Mr. Yamakuchi.

Shen Yun’s costumes are handmade and tailored to each dancer. The design of each costume is inspired by depictions of attire worn in the heavens.

“Wearing those dance costumes, Shen Yun dancers still walked very lightly. There was almost no sound of footsteps. They were very light. Their movements showed elegance, which was full of Chinese flavor,” said Mr. Yamakuchi.
Reporting by Wenliang Wang, Niu Bin and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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