WOKING, U.K.—China is a large nation with a long history of 5,000 years. The diversity of the people living within its borders may be surprising to some.
Dr. Benson Wang moved to the U.K. from Hong Kong nearly two years ago. He shared that after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts, he was struck by how
Shen Yun was showing genuine Chinese
culture.
“That is a really amazing way of performing traditional Chinese culture,” Dr. Wang said.
New York-based Shen Yun’s dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance. But other than the classical dance techniques, Shen Yun’s dancers also receive training in the different
folk dance styles of China’s diverse ethnicities.
“It is a kind of promotion of what Chinese culture and civilization looks like. The performance [showed] different kinds of cultural ethnicities from Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, Eastern, and Southwestern China. [It gives people a] different understanding that Chinese culture is not homogeneous,” commented Dr. Wang.
Despite Shen Yun’s success at sharing Chinese culture with the world, it
cannot perform in China.
“It is a pity to see that the show cannot be performed in China because of political reasons,” expressed Dr. Wang. “But I do believe [that Shen Yun] can be performed in China because we have witnessed this change with China over the past three or four years.”
Shen Yun puts on an all-new production every year. It draws inspiration from Chinese history, literature, and the myths and legends that have been passed down to this day.
“They perform [with a] really good combination of traditional skills or techniques,” he said. “I especially loved the synergy of the performers.”
‘No Flaws’
Each of Shen Yun’s eight companies has its own live orchestra. The ensemble comprises a Western orchestra as the foundation while highlighting traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and erhu.“The orchestra actually performed excellently to match the performers. The whole show, I would say—there’re no flaws,” Dr. Wang said.
Having seen some behind-the-scenes clips, Dr. Wang wanted to express his appreciation for
Shen Yun’s artists.
“[It was] amazing to know the efforts and energies and also the devotion [put into] the performance. It’s not easy. So I do hope the best for them, and [I hope they] keep in the momentum to bring us excellent shows in the future,” he said.
Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.
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