PHILADELPHIA—The depth and aesthetic beauty of ancient Chinese culture was displayed in full in Philadelphia Friday, as Shen Yun Performing Arts played its first show at the Merriam Theater.
Amy Kiyota, the executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian-American Affairs, was impressed with the dancers’ technique.
“I was really surprised because this is my first experience with Chinese traditional dance,” Ms. Kiyota said. “Just the height of their jumps and the excitement in the crowd was really wonderful.”
“It’s really, really wonderful to see all of that,” she added. Ms. Kiyota was formerly was a classical Japanese and ballet dancer.
Classical Chinese dance has a history that stretches back thousands of years and in its true form, expresses a dancer’s innermost thoughts and feelings.
“Other than complete training in the fundamentals, it also entails systematic training in movements and postures, as well as very difficult jumping and tumbling techniques,” the Shen Yun website says.
Ms. Kiyota said the dancing was very fluid—making it really different to a lot of western-style dance.
“That was really intriguing to me, just the fluidity of the pieces and the way that in a large ensemble [the dancers are] all able to work together and really create a cohesive image.”
“I loved the strength of the technique [and] also the costumes” were superb, she said.
Shen Yun, a New York-based dance company, aims to bring back the traditional culture of China that was lost under six decades of communist rule, according to its website. The 2012 season is Shen Yun’s sixth since the company was established in 2006.
Reporting by Pamela Tsai and Jack Phillips.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will perform at The Merriam Theater, in Philadelphia through Jan. 8.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
