LONDON—Actor Valentine Palmer enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts so much when it came to London last year, he was back again for this year’s all new performance.
New York based Shen Yun has a mission to revive the divinely inspired culture of China’s 5,000 years of civilization.
But Mr Palmer says Shen Yun performances bring back to life not only Chinese culture and lost values, but also values cherished in the West too.
“This show is about something different, something special. It’s about qualities that most of us in the West and most people in China have lost.”
Mr Palmer has appeared in many iconic British TV series over the last several decades, including Dr Who.
He came to see Shen Yun at the Barbican centre on Wednesday evening with his wife, Catherine.
She too, was blown-away by the performance, saying it was a privilege and an honour to see such a “mind-blowing” performance, echoing her husband’s comments.
“It is really wonderful. You just watch with complete delight.”
Mr Palmer was bowled over by the technical prowess of the dancers, particularly in the dance entitled An Early Spring, in which the dancers use twirling handkerchiefs to evoke the annual change of seasons in a vibrant northeastern folk dance.
“I don’t know how they do that. It’s quite extraordinary,” he said.
But alongside the technical mastery of the dancers, he also had high praise for the traditional culture of China itself and the way Shen Yun brings that culture to audiences worldwide.
“I think that it’s such a pity that so many people in the West no longer know the classical Chinese way, it’s such a shame. And all we know is that China is concrete, corruption and communism, that’s all we know. We don’t know about this side, and so these shows are just a wonderful way of showing the other China.”
Reporting by Shaoying Chen and Simon Veazey.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will be performing in Barbican Theatre through March 9. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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