WORCESTER, Mass.—Shen Yun Performing Arts stopped at The Hanover Theatre in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Friday evening, Dec. 30, during their 2012 world tour.
“The dancers are amazing,” said surgeon Jeffrey Resmick who came to see Shen Yun with his wife Linda Shulsan.
“They make it look easy,” he said.
New York based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 with the mission of reviving 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture through music and dance, says its website. The culture, founded on principles such as benevolence, wisdom, and sincerity, was nearly destroyed by China’s communist regime through campaigns such as the Cultural Revolution.
One unique feature of Shen Yun is its handcrafted, colorful costumes, which range from imperial dragon robes to cloud capes, and traditional Han clothing to Mongolian ethnic attires.
“I’ve read that they were hand made,” said Mr. Resmick. “I love it.”
He was impressed with the dance, Sleeves of Silk, in which the dancers’ “water sleeves” act as extensions of their arms, producing effects akin to fluttering wings or trailing ripples, according to Shen Yun’s website. “Unbelievable,” said Mr. Resmick.
Another aspect of Shen Yun he appreciated was its digital backdrop, which becomes interactive during dance pieces such as How the Monkey King Came to Be.
Along with the dancers and backdrop, each of Shen Yun’s three companies tour with an orchestra. The orchestra blends the East and the West, says Shen Yun’s website, using a Western philharmonic foundation while traditional Chinese instruments such as the 4,000 year old erhu, a two-stringed Chinese violin, lead the melodies.
“They are very good,” said Mr. Resmick. “Very difficult music to learn, I’m sure.”
Shen Yun’s collection of short dance pieces transport audience members from the Himalayas to tropical lake-filled regions; from the legends of culture’s creation over 5,000 years ago to the modern day story of Falun Dafa; from the highest heavens to China’s dusty plateaus, says Shen Yun’s website.
Mr. Resmick said he had learned a surprising amount about spirituality by watching Shen Yun performances and it had been enjoyable.
He was referring to the dances about Falun Dafa, which Shen Yun’s website says is a meditation practice guided by truthfulness, compassion and tolerance and that is banned in China.
Mr. Resmick said that the world is founded on spiritual beliefs and that banning those beliefs in China was wrong.
“They [people] should be able to believe in what they want to believe in,” he said.
He and his wife are glad they went, said Mr. Resmick. “It was perfect.”
With reporting by Zack Stieber.
Shen Yun will be in Providence, R.I., on Jan. 19, 2012, at the Providence Performing Arts Center and in Boston Jan. 20–22 for four shows at the Boston Opera House. New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
