MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—John Kovac, councilor and deputy mayor of the city of Mississauga, marveled at the light, color, and talent that flooded the stage as the curtain went up on Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Living Arts Centre on opening night, March 21.
“It was absolutely incredible and it felt like magic,” he said. “And to watch everybody inside the auditorium, as they’re watching the smiles on their faces, the performers are so good, acrobatic,
balletic, extremely artistic. And just to see even how the merging of the performers as they’re performing with the background, it really makes it feel like it’s coming to life in a way that few other performing groups can achieve, so I am blown away. I am blown away.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top
classical Chinese dance company. Through
music and
dance, Shen Yun’s mission is to show audiences the beauty of China before communism.
Mr. Kovac said the performance showed “that for 5,000 years, the rich culture and the diversity and the arts and all of that,” in contrast to the “level of suppression” in today’s China under the communist regime.
“You feel that freedom,” he added. “And everything is really on display in a way that I believe those who are here in attendance can truly appreciate.
He said the performance also conveyed “peace and love everything that was cultivated over 5,000 years [of]
culture and arts, and dance, and how beautiful China was.”
“Beautiful, beautiful, and this is really how beautiful it was in China,” he said. “And to just to have Shen Yun come into Mississauga, it’s a match made in heaven.”
“I really do feel the
culture came through. It shone in a way that was both magical and memorable. And for a city like Mississauga with such a diverse population, and we have many who are here who are Chinese and Chinese-speaking, it was meaningful to have such a show that is cemented itself the world over,“ Mr. Kovac said. ”It speaks to the success of Shen Yun and everything that [they] do ... it speaks to everybody and anyone in our wonderful city.”
“I’m holding this booklet over here and I’m going to treasure this as well,” he said.
Reporting by NTD and Catherine Yang.
