LONDON—A glorious new season of Shen Yun Performing Arts was displayed at the Eventim Apollo on Jan. 7. Ged Oloughlin and his wife enjoyed the whole performance.
Mr. Oloughlin, head of IT for his company, said, “I love the colors, very spectacular, the dancing, the costumes.”
The patented animated backdrop impressed him.
“It was very clever. I like that. I wasn’t expecting that. It’s very clever where they jump off and move up so they timed it very well. Adds to the story,” he said. He especially enjoyed the dance of sleeves.
Church of England Minister Intrigued With Creation Story
Tim and Lucy Chapman were impressed with the spectacle Shen Yun presented. When the curtain first went up, Mr. Chapman, a minister in the Church of England, said he felt “Lots of anticipation and excitement about what we were going to see. Very impressed of the set and the drama.”Mrs. Chapman enjoyed the pageant and drama. “I think it’s a beautiful spectacle. The costumes are amazing. The way that the dancers use them to create all the color and the movements—it’s very impressive. The energy of the dancers, but also the grace, is lovely to see,” she said.
Mrs. Chapman said she was amazed by the dancers’ energy, “especially that one of the Tibetan men’s dance. That was really energetic and really exciting. I love that.”
She noticed how the male and female dancers move in their own way harmoniously. “It’s nice. It’s the balance between them, the ladies moving often very gracefully, beautifully,” Mrs. Chapman said. “So there’s a lot of variety and balance.”
Another nice surprise for Mrs. Chapman was “the humor, as well, in some of the stories. I wasn’t expecting that, the way that’s portrayed through the dance is very good.”
“I am aware of the persecution that there has been for all those who profess any religious faith in China, and I’m deeply saddened by that,” Mr. Chapman said.
“I think it is a fair representation of the abuses of the Chinese authorities against those who have faith. And I’m sad that that is a true representation.”
“I am delighted to see traditional Chinese dance and traditional Chinese culture and some of the representations of the culture, of the broad scope of Chinese culture before communism. I’m somewhat surprised that it is quite so clearly presenting the difference that there is now that the communist culture has maintained the dominance in China,” Mr. Chapman said.
“I’m intrigued to know that there is a creation story where sin has entered the world, and that is part of the problem. I’m intrigued by the presentation,” he said.
