TORONTO—David Mackenzie, a company ambassador and special projects manager, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 6.
“[It was] awesome,” Mr. Mackenzie said. “The ability of these dancers is incredible, the costumes are great, but the background that they use, the screening, is superb.”
Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, which allows performers to move seamlessly between the stage and background, has long been a fan favorite.
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception, Shen Yun has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour around the world simultaneously, reviving traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the beauty of “China before communism.”
Mr. Mackenzie also appreciated the music performed by Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which features a unique combination of traditional Chinese and Western instruments.
“It’s great, it’s amazing,” he said.
Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the perseverance of followers of faith in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution. These story-based dances left an impression on Mr. Mackenzie.
“The message is there, that’s what’s key,” he said.
Mr. Mackenzie described Shen Yun as “amazing, awesome, outstanding” and said that he would tell friends who have not yet seen Shen Yun that “you’ve got to go, you’ve got to see it.”
