EDMONTON, Canada—Dance has the power to transcend the familiar boundaries of the human mind, opening up different realms of understanding, said Dr. Wayne Steinke after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts on Friday night.
“I think the universe is such a vast place that it’s not comprehensible fully to the human mind and that sometimes the only way we can access some of those higher realities is to get out of our brain and actually access our hearts, and we can do that through dance and through the arts,” said Dr. Steinke.
“I think that’s one of the things that the arts and dance can bring forward, that everything isn’t just linear rational thought, that there is more to life than just the mundane.”
Dr. Steinke, a doctor of naturopathic medicine and vice-chairman of the Canadian Naturopathic Foundation, took in the New York-based dance company’s second show at Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
He said the show both amused him and left him deeply moved.
Among the humorous pieces is Mischievous Monks, which takes a peek into the lives of a group of young Buddhist monks who are having some fun while the abbot is away.
“Because I have a background in martial arts, I had an affinity with the monks. I think it’s just a nice reflection of the fact that people are people everywhere in the world, boys will be boys,” said Dr. Steinke.
“It doesn’t matter what culture they are in, they find ways of distracting themselves from what they are supposed to be doing.”
On a more profound note, Dr. Steinke talked about a dance inspired by real-life events in China today, where a woman is persecuted by the authorities for her spiritual belief.
“That was very emotional, very touching, in how they did that,” he said.
“For me it was more a case of just realizing that not everyone around the world enjoys the same freedoms from government that we do here in Canada and that when people are suffering it’s nice to think that maybe there are some higher powers that are looking out for humanity as well.”
Shen Yun’s innovative animated backdrops play an important role in that dance as heavenly scenes open to the dancers on the stage.
“The backgrounds are wonderful,” he said, adding that that was the first time he had seen backdrops used that way.
“The show is very nice; love the music and the people. There is a lot of skill involved, a lot of flexibility obviously, a lot of training to do that.”
With reporting by Maple Lynn and Matthew Little.
Shen Yun will stage two more shows in Edmonton before going on to Calgary and then Vancouver. For more information, visit www.ShenYunPeformingArts.org.
“I think the universe is such a vast place that it’s not comprehensible fully to the human mind and that sometimes the only way we can access some of those higher realities is to get out of our brain and actually access our hearts, and we can do that through dance and through the arts,” said Dr. Steinke.
“I think that’s one of the things that the arts and dance can bring forward, that everything isn’t just linear rational thought, that there is more to life than just the mundane.”
Dr. Steinke, a doctor of naturopathic medicine and vice-chairman of the Canadian Naturopathic Foundation, took in the New York-based dance company’s second show at Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
He said the show both amused him and left him deeply moved.
Among the humorous pieces is Mischievous Monks, which takes a peek into the lives of a group of young Buddhist monks who are having some fun while the abbot is away.
“Because I have a background in martial arts, I had an affinity with the monks. I think it’s just a nice reflection of the fact that people are people everywhere in the world, boys will be boys,” said Dr. Steinke.
“It doesn’t matter what culture they are in, they find ways of distracting themselves from what they are supposed to be doing.”
On a more profound note, Dr. Steinke talked about a dance inspired by real-life events in China today, where a woman is persecuted by the authorities for her spiritual belief.
“That was very emotional, very touching, in how they did that,” he said.
“For me it was more a case of just realizing that not everyone around the world enjoys the same freedoms from government that we do here in Canada and that when people are suffering it’s nice to think that maybe there are some higher powers that are looking out for humanity as well.”
Shen Yun’s innovative animated backdrops play an important role in that dance as heavenly scenes open to the dancers on the stage.
“The backgrounds are wonderful,” he said, adding that that was the first time he had seen backdrops used that way.
“The show is very nice; love the music and the people. There is a lot of skill involved, a lot of flexibility obviously, a lot of training to do that.”
With reporting by Maple Lynn and Matthew Little.
Shen Yun will stage two more shows in Edmonton before going on to Calgary and then Vancouver. For more information, visit www.ShenYunPeformingArts.org.
