VANCOUVER, Canada—On March 22, Parmeet Kamra, a news journalist and show hostess, along with Nitish Kamra, a real estate agent, eagerly attended Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
“Everything was so amazing. It was incredible. The stories, the performance, the flips, the music, the expression—you name it and they have it. The graphics were so nice, and even if you don’t understand the language, it’s the language of art which speaks to you,” she added.
“It was a really enjoyable and amazing performance.”
New York-based Shen Yun was established in 2006 by leading Chinese artists dreaming of reviving China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.
Through a series of classical, ethnic, folk, and story-based dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun is rediscovering and sharing with the world the lost beauty of pre-communist China.
Ms. Kamra has always loved dance and takes every opportunity to see it. For her, Shen Yun is special because she loved the dancers’ expressivity and movements “couldn’t find a single mistake.”
“Little fumbles—nothing like that,” she said. “It really amazes me. I think they have year-round practice. It’s so smooth—just like the water flowing and the stream falling,” she said.
“I was just so amazed for the last two hours, and I wish it could go on forever.”
According to the Shen Yun website, the classical Chinese dance we see in China today is heavily mixed with military and modern dance styles. And only at Shen Yun can you find it performed in its purest form—the way it was originally passed down through the generations.
Mr. Kamra, who is from South Asia, said his country has a very rich culture as well. So, “it was nice to see a neighboring culture” that is equally vibrant.
“The basic [values] are all the same—to do good for other people. [All] traditional cultures taught the same thing. I really liked that,” he said, adding that he would for sure recommend Shen Yun to his friends.
“I definitely want to say that they’ve missed something if they have not watched this. I want to say to everyone that if you’ve got a chance, just come and have an amazing time here.”
“The credit goes to the designers and the choreographers—the artists realized their vision and presented us the stories in an art form that is really good,” she said.
“I really hope this kind of ancient, genuine, original art—we get to know more about it. We should share it, explore it, and everybody in the world shouldn’t forget their roots.”
