OTTAWA, Ontario—Melissa Schilf, a retired federal parole officer, and Greg Graham, a real estate developer, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Arts Centre on April 20. Mr. Graham revealed that his 91-year-old parents had seen the performance years ago and recommended it to them.
“We have not been disappointed,” Mr. Graham said. “Since the curtain rose, it’s been phenomenal. The color, the music, the dance, the creativity, it’s been phenomenal.”
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.”
Shen Yun’s program also includes songs performed in the traditional bel canto style, and Ms. Schilf felt that when the soloist sang, it was “one of the most powerful performances we’ve seen.”Shen Yun cannot perform in China because of its depictions of followers of faith being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party in modern-day China. Ms. Schilf remarked that “that is such a shame because [the song had] such a powerful message” and that it is “very important to understand that that’s still happening.”
“I think that it’s really wonderful to be able to come this Easter weekend to see this because it’s giving us a lot of history of the dance and what inspired the different stories,” Ms. Schilf said.
“A lot of them are based in things that are happening still today, and I think that that’s very enriching and knowledgeable for me to understand how they came together to do these wonderful performances.”
“I think this is a great message to be sharing,” he said. “I think if they continue to perform and get their message out ... that starts to resonate with people and that message will continue to get out as long as they continue to perform.”
