TORONTO—The show that has defined itself, in part, by what it’s not—namely, communist—has arrived in Toronto to perform classical Chinese dance from a bygone era.
For months ahead of the dance company’s arrival, words emblazoned on colorful billboards read: “China Before Communism.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, advertises its mission to “revive a culture that was once almost lost” and share it with the world through music and dance.
Performing at the Four Seasons Centre on April 5, Shen Yun resonated with the theatergoers who spoke to The Epoch Times at intermission.
Sepi Sajadi, who designs kitchens and practices meditation and prayer, says she bought tickets to Shen Yun for both herself and her son because she received a sign from above.
“I was introduced to this by my late mother. She saw the ad on TV and really wanted to go,” Ms. Sajadi said, adding that her mother passed before she could go. “About a month ago, I saw someone put a flyer at my door. So I thought, ‘Wow, that’s my mom. She wants me to go to see the show.’ So here we are!”
She said the incredibly “joyful” colors of Shen Yun inspired her aesthetically, especially because nowadays “people are wearing black all the time.” Ms. Sajadi thought Shen Yun could be beneficial to younger generations.
Far from the technicolor world of stage shows, Glen Gogal is a commercial painter who’s more used to the “boring beiges” on the theater walls today.
Beyond aesthetics, though, he said he thinks Shen Yun will bolster average folks to support the Chinese people oppressed under the CCP. Some of the dance segments he saw depicted religious persecution in today’s China.
“There are lots of people that, for whatever reason, personally, they just would not stand out in the crowd,” he said. “Lots of people will leave here and, in the days to come, think about it and not just sort of close their eyes.
“The message here today goes a long way to reinforce people that are sitting on the fence.”
Simon Nyilassy, a retired real estate company CEO, arrived at Shen Yun today with his wife, and while she’s religious, he says, he’s not, yet he believes “religion is hugely important in a culture.”
In addition to classical Chinese dance and story-based dance vignettes, Shen Yun bel canto virtuoso also perform solos of original songs in the Chinese language on universal and profound themes like the meaning of life and the relationship between heaven and humankind.
“China before communism,” for Mr. Nyilassy, means more than freedom of religion and diversity of thought. There’s and aesthetic component that Shen Yun delivers through its pre-CCP message. That component is color.
Using bright costumes that depict motifs from ancient times, and using a state-of-the-art animated 3D digital backdrop to depict castles in the heavens and kingdoms under the sea, Shen Yun sweeps its audience to another time and place.
“All we see now is what the Chinese Communist Party presents to us, which is very grey and no color, no variety, like, you know, good old Mao—everybody had to wear the same thing,” Mr. Nyilassy said, with a laugh.
“I’ve seen posters of Shen Yun, but to actually see the culture come alive with the dances and the soprano was—her voice was just amazing,” he added.
“I’ve learned a lot about Chinese culture that I never would have known.”
