NORTHAMPTON, UK—Janette Mackness saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Royal & Derngate on Feb. 18 and said she had loved the performance so much she was going to make sure to see Shen Yun again next year, and recommended
others do the same.
“Oh, I absolutely loved it. It was absolutely fantastic. Everything about it was just amazing,” said Ms. Mackness, who is a wardrobe manager for a production company.
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through
music and
dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.
Ms. Mackness was blown away by the classical Chinese dance and what the
dancers were capable of.
“Insane! I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re just brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” Ms. Mackness said.
Classical Chinese dance is, alongside ballet, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. With a history of thousands of years, classical Chinese dance is famously expressive, and also requires mastery of difficult tumbling techniques like flips and spins that later became
used in sports like gymnastics and acrobatics.
Ms. Mackness gave high praise to the dancers’ artistry, technique, talent, and ability to tell stories through dance.
“[The dancers] portrayed them brilliantly. I loved it. We understood everything that they were doing. All the characterizations was fantastic. The costumes were brilliant,” she said. “The
stories were great.”
“It is just insane what they’re doing. Absolutely brilliant,” she said. “It’s off the scale.”
“Definitely come wherever it’s on next year, definitely come and see it,” she said.
Reporting by NTD and Catherine Yang.
