QUEBEC CITY, Canada—Richard Bergeron and Marie-Christine Simard enjoyed a wonderful night out on Jan. 8 at the Grand Théâtre de Québec taking in Shen Yun Performing Arts.
It was clear that the Quebec City audience was eagerly awaiting the renowned classical Chinese dance and music performance visiting the provincial capital for the first time, as tickets sold out three weeks before the show date.
“Extraordinary, marvellous, enveloping, captivating, stimulating, revivifying—everything is present. It’s complete, it’s brilliant,” said Mr. Bergeron, a consultant who works in the field of enterprise development.
“We love it,” he added, noting that he would rate the show “12 in 10, that’s the top.”
He said he attended the show with Ms. Simard as a present as well as to enjoy the pleasure of discovering Chinese culture.
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded with the mission of reviving China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture.
Each year the company’s three touring groups travel the world bringing an all-new lineup of dances, songs, and original musical scores. The production showcases classical Chinese dance as its core but also presents Chinese ethnic and folk dances that celebrate the diversity of China’s many dynasties, ethnicities, and regions.
Ms. Simard, vice president of a computer firm, had similar praise for the show and noted that Shen Yun made her feel like “we travel throughout the show.”
“I found it very sublime, marvellous, sensational, and very, very enjoyable,” she said. “The dancers are extremely beautiful to watch, and the quality of the dancing, as well, is impressive.”
Mr. Bergeron said that next year he would like to see Shen Yun twice, and would be sure to take his 10-year-old daughter.
For Ms. Simard, her only regret at the end of the performance was that “unfortunately … everything has an end.”
“Of the discovery and of the splendour that we can see throughout this brief moment … it’s extremely beautiful and [a show] to see again,” she said, remarking on the complexity of the dance movements, including the movement of the fingers and hands.
“Everything is alive—very, very beautiful to watch,” Ms. Simard said.
“It’s brilliant, it’s huge, it’s not to be missed,” Mr. Bergeron said. “Go with your girlfriend. You are sure to spend an excellent night.”
According to Shen Yun’s website, “A performance by Shen Yun is a presentation of traditional Chinese culture as it once was: a study in grace, wisdom, and the virtues distilled from the five millennia of Chinese civilization.”
“Everything is perfect,” Ms. Simard said.
Reporting by Deing Xie and Kelly Ni
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. After playing five shows in Montreal Jan. 3-6, Shen Yun’s New York Company played one show in Quebec City on Jan. 8 before going on to Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and Toronto in its tour of eastern Canada. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
