TORONTO—Shen Yun Performing Arts received a warm welcome from audiences when it appeared at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts from March 29 through April 6.
“It’s such a beautiful cultural tapestry, the dance, the storytelling, the sort of cinematography in the back. I just think it’s a beautiful show,” associate professor Jerry Flores said.
Claude Marleau, a company vice president, said that Shen Yun’s “choreography is beautiful and you just get lost in the whole moment of it. It was really something special.”
TV producer Brian Thomas has seen Shen Yun five times. He noted how the 3D digital backdrop animations in the background, which interact with the dancers to tell ancient legends onstage, keep improving. “Amazing!” he said. “I kind of know how it works, but it’s really amazing.”
“The quality is excellent,” said Keith Kinsella, a company vice president. “I’m looking for imperfections and haven’t found one yet. The sequence with the dance and the orchestra is quite fabulous.”
Fashion model Anna Dulaeva said, “Oh, it’s beautiful. I started smiling really hard when I saw the show start. It’s very magical, very colorful.”
Shen Yun is based in New York, and its mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization before communism.
Bela Kutasi, a construction contractor, is from Hungary and experienced communism.
“This story showed the people the good and the bad and how it’s always the good getting rewarded in the end. Everything is healed and returned to normal, and the people are happy. Love is always winning throughout the bad,” Mr. Kutasi said.
China was once known as the land of the divine. From the emperor to the people, everyone looked to the heavens for guidance. Shen Yun is striving to bring that divine reverence back.
Published author and retired conductor Joseph Aminian said, “[Shen Yun presents] the ancient concepts of the naturalist world. These are universal concepts that go above and beyond any race, ethnicity, nationality, or creed. I recommend the production to anyone.”
Kevin Vuong, a member of the Canadian parliament, said, “I think there are a lot of questions that people always ask: ‘What if China was a democracy?’ And those are things that we don’t have to really imagine on our own today. That’s something that we’re able to see on stage—to see the celebration of 5,000 years of history and culture.”
Shen Yun highlights the courage and faith of Falun Gong practitioners in China in its program.
“I love that it’s educating us on that because that’s something I would never know,” PR management company owner Jessica Panetta said.
Irina Vasina, a project manager, admired the tenacity of the performers. “I think in this whole show [what stands out] is human determination—human determination to succeed, and to pursue their dreams. That’s the value that I see. Honestly, for all the dancers, it was determination to perform at that level,” she said.
Retired professor Don Fishley said, “I think it’s an amazing performance. It should be something everybody plans on seeing one day.”
There are still opportunities to see Shen Yun in the greater Toronto area, including Ottawa and Hamilton, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec in April and May.
