Shen Yun Performing Arts played its final Canadian show of the season on Jan. 20, leaving theatregoers a little better versed in the depth and intricacies of China’s cultural heritage.
After touring the breadth of the country, Shen Yun ended its Canadian dates with a five-show run at Toronto’s Sony Centre, where it played to sold-out and full-house crowds.
Widely regarded as the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music group, Shen Yun has gathered a growing and loyal fan base, and if ticket sales are any indication, its lavish production has become a major draw for theatregoers around the world.
Based out of New York, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture, a culture largely lost in mainland China today. The sincerity of the group’s efforts has gone a long way in making their performances legendary, and audiences have exhibited a deep appreciation for Shen Yun’s revival of a culture steeped in tradition and mythology.
To accomplish its objective, Shen Yun has combined elements both ancient and modern, traditional and new, to provide a theatrical experience that is at once immediately accessible and revolutionary.
The Dance
The hallmark of Shen Yun is classical Chinese dance, and it is the primary medium through which the performers convey and express the ancient traditions of China’s heritage. The movements are part of a rich language that carries the inner spirit of China’s past.
Christine Conrad, a former ballet dancer and graduate of York University’s Faculty of Fine Arts’ dance program, recognized the calibre of the dancers and their ability to dance grand-scale pieces in synchronicity.
“Excellent, excellent dancers,” she said. “You see the unison—all the dancers were at a level that they looked like one. And especially in the way they were dancing, they were meant to be as one and you could see that.”
Another former ballet dancer, Rebecca Carroll, was equally impressed.
“Very synchronized, and it’s just visually overall very beautiful,” she said. “I really like traditional dancing, and you can tell it takes a lot of [training].”
Yulia Arsenyev danced ballet for 20 years and now teaches the art to children. Her trained eye noticed the subtle nuances of the dancers’ movements
“I couldn’t hear even the steps or jumps of the dancers; I think it’s very, very important to dance very lightly,” she said. “You can see the power, you can see all the air in between the moves. I really like that.”
The Music
Shen Yun’s live orchestra has become its own phenomenon, with the ensemble recently playing New York’s Carnegie Hall.
In order to create its unique sound, the orchestra combines both Eastern and Western instruments. Using Western philharmonic structure as the base, Chinese soloists play the melodies. This unique combination of traditions is perfectly suited to Shen Yun’s presentation of ancient culture to a modern audience.
David Lum, award-winning band director and curriculum leader of music at Agincourt Collegiate Institute in Toronto, was especially taken with the unique sound of the orchestra.
“I think it worked very well, I liked the way the sound blended,” he said. “I think they used the Western instruments in the arrangement in the right amount. I thought it was really fantastic.”
Singing sisters Lynn Himmelman and Leslee Barry showered praise on soprano Geng Haolan.
Ms. Himmelman, a former opera singer who performed with the Edmonton Opera, Hamilton Opera, and Opera East, and Ms. Barry, who teaches singing in Nova Scotia and directs a local choir, knew that Ms. Geng’s voice was something special.
“She reached out with her whole voice, with her whole being, and just really went into me in terms of how she sang,” Ms. Himmelman. “Sometimes a singer has a special way of really encompassing you with their voice, and that’s what she was able to do.”
“That’s what gives you chills, is when the voice is connected to the body and it’s not pushed,” said Ms. Barry.
“And that’s what this woman was doing. She was singing with her whole body from head to toe,” added Ms. Himmelman. “It’s really special.”
A Visual Feast
In combining the modern with the traditional, Shen Yun incorporates a large-scale animated backdrop that portrays ancient landscapes and heavenly realms in one piece and becoming part of the action in the next.
Mahsa Ghorbankarimi, the art director at March Entertainment, a Toronto-based award-winning production company specializing in animated TV shows for kids, appreciated the detail that went into the production.
“The backdrop is quite incredible. I love the fact that the characters were going into the backdrops and coming to life—that was really nice. The colours were absolutely beautiful. Overall the production values were quite high and amazing.”
Ms. Ghorbankarimi said the interactions between the dancers onstage and the animations on the backdrop were an unexpected surprise.
“Even the costumes of the characters in the backdrop were exactly matching with the characters that were coming to life [onstage], which was really nice.”
Mary Duldouras, a fashion designer, stylist, image consultant, and educator was in awe of Shen Yun’s costumes.
“I love the blending of the colours; it’s unexpected, totally different spectrums of colour combinations that you wouldn’t see in western society,” she said. “The movement, the fabric is gorgeous—you can see the history of China and the historical influences there. Just breathtaking.”
‘Every Year it Changes’
Many of Canada’s political leaders have attended Shen Yun’s performances and many return year after year.
Michael Prue, MPP for Beaches-East York, has attended the performance in Toronto so many years that he’s lost count.
“I’ve been I think almost every year since they’ve started coming to Toronto,” Mr. Prue said. “It’s a tremendous show. Every year it changes, and every year I learn more about Chinese culture.”
“I get to see a lot of events in my job and I see many, many traditions, but this is a very unique one and a very disciplined one, and you never see a single person out of step. And so, wow! It’s something to see.”
MP Costas Menegakis said Shen Yun is “absolutely the best performance” he has ever seen.
“It is absolutely fantastic. … It’s just the way that it’s done, the quality of the performances, the athleticism of the performers, the strength of the performers, the smiles on their faces, the joy in their faces—it’s absolutely fantastic.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Following 21 successful shows Dec. 20-Jan. 13 in Mississauga, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Hamilton, Shen Yun’s New York Company finished its run of five shows in Toronto with sold-out shows Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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