INCHEON, South Korea—Lee Miji, director and producer of Acrobatic Musical Troupe, watched the second performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company, which was highly recommended by her friends, on the afternoon of April 14 at the Incheon Culture and Arts Center. She said Shen Yun’s masterly techniques made it unrivaled and flawless.
Shen Yun displays 5,000 years of Chinese culture via classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance. With masterly techniques of classical Chinese dance at their command, performers left the Korean audience fascinated.
“Shen Yun does not stubbornly stick to the basic procedures of a performance, which quite surprises me. By and large, a program will start at a slow pace, accelerates, and then reaches the climax. On the other hand, Shen Yun remains peaceful from the beginning to the end.
“In my opinion, peacefulness is the feature of Shen Yun. If peacefulness is the most appropriate way for Shen Yun to present culture to an audience, I respect this way of presentation,” said Lee Miji delightedly.
“Shen Yun performers display excellent dance techniques. Shen Yun dancing is of superb excellence, in combination with movements that convey masculinity, which is also the most impressive part, makes Shen Yun unrivaled.”
In conclusion, Ms. Miji said, “Shen Yun tickets are at the highest price in Korea; even any other troupe from the U.S. can never charge such high prices. I am so surprised to know the Shen Yun world tour is on such a large scale, on a very tight schedule, and performs before countless audiences. This can never be easily achieved. I also engage in performances. I was told that Shen Yun tours Korea yearly, and I would like to learn from Shen Yun.”
‘I was moved’
Hong Seokil, president of the Korean Broadcasting and Communication Convergence Research Institute, was delighted after watching the performance and stated that a divine realm was completely unfolded. He was touched.
Similar to the reaction of other audience members when they first see Shen Yun, Hong Seokil highly complimented the dance, costumes and the backdrop. He said, “The dance was outstanding, especially the unique and distinctive way to blend the colors of the costumes. Furthermore, the backdrop perfectly complemented the performance on the stage. It was overwhelming.”
Perhaps all Korean men have a unique gentle nature; Mr. Hong was strongly fascinated by the masculine, powerful dance Han Imperial Air, which showcased the Han Dynasty. “The backdrop of the Han Imperial Air was extremely beautiful, and the dance was performed vividly,” he said.
Mr. Hong, a music lover himself, liked the unique way Shen Yun seamlessly blended Eastern and Western instruments and created harmonious sounds. He explained: “I used to learn many kinds of Korean instruments, so I could tell the unique nature and excellence of the Shen Yun music. The interactions of the Eastern and Western instruments produces pleasant sounds.”
He added, “I’ve learned a lot from Shen Yun. For instance, the choreography, performance, colors, and the costumes, especially the costumes, it seemed like the fairies had come down to earth.”
“From the aspect of admiring Gods, the scene in which the Buddha descended from the heaven totally showed the glory of the heavenly paradise. I was moved,” he said.
Mr. Hong continued ruefully, “I am 62 years old now. I have experienced numerous things. I could feel that our lives are carefully arranged by divine beings. I subconsciously believe in the existence of Gods. I can deeply empathize with this performance.”
Enlightened in many ways about life after seeing the performance, Mr. Hong said, “For example, I promised to the Gods that I won’t do bad things, never harm anyone. Through this performance, I was deeply affected by these feelings.”
As for how to comprehend the messages that Shen Yun expresses, Mr. Hong’s wife, a painter, said the last program Divine Mercy was astonishing. It warned us to reflect on ourselves from time to time.
Read the original Chinese articles. [1] [2]
Reporting by Lee Zhen and Amy Lien, Lee Jinhan and Amy Yu
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
