WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Shen Yun Performing Arts left its audience amazed by its sheer beauty when it came to Wellington’s St. James Theatre on Tuesday evening, Feb. 5.
Unfazed by the strong winds and intermittent rains, the St. James filled rapidly with eager theatre-goers enthusiastically awaiting the New York-based classical Chinese dance and musical performance.
Minoo Kanwal, a teacher, and her husband Amarjeet Singh, a gynaecologist, found their experience of Chinese culture a memorable experience.
Mr. Singh said the performance had left him with a very good impression of Chinese culture and arts and noted that China’s diverse cultures had been well represented.
Shen Yun Performing Arts was established in 2006 with a mission to revive the authentic, traditional Chinese culture.
“They are a vibrant culture. I would say [of] diverse cultures each having their own way of life … and I would say—a mixture of happy and sad.”
Mr. Singh noted that the good mixture of Chinese culture also included the scenes of repression of the spiritual group Falun Dafa.
“Whether set in the past or in contemporary China, every dance embodies traditional Chinese values. Ideals of loyalty, filial piety, and veneration for the divine are cherished and celebrated,” Shen Yun’s website says.
“That was also pretty good – that’s what we keep hearing about and then you get to see the other good stuff, which is also pretty good,” he said.
Shen Yun’s classical and ethnic dancers also left Mr. Singh with a memorable experience.
Chinese classical dance dates back to the beginning of Chinese culture 5000 years and is one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. The colourful ethnic dances are drawn from China’s more than 50 ethnic groups.
The Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra is also unique, based upon a European-style orchestra with Chinese instruments added to great effect.
“It [the orchestra] was very good, said Mr. Singh. ”The timing and the flow of the music was very good.”
Today’s performance was Ms. Kanwal first experience of China’s traditional culture which, she said, awakened familiar experiences.
“I could associate with [the music]. It’s something that came straight to me. I loved the instruments,” said Ms. Kanwal. “I think they’ve done a really good job.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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