OXFORD, UK—Yvonne Kiamtia-Appleby, a company manager, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Theatre on Jan. 25.
Since its inception in 2006, New York-based Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally-sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, on a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and show the world a “China before communism” through classical Chinese dance and music.
Ms. Kiamtia-Appleby said she didn’t expect to see the stunning visual effects presented by Shen Yun, made possible by its patented animated backdrop which has long been a fan favorite.“It really brought the stories to life,” she said of the backdrop, which allows performers to move seamlessly between the stage and the beyond. “It was very, very impressive.”
“You really felt part of the story,” he added. “It’s quite incredible to do that through dance, to feel part of a story.”
“[Shen Yun is] bringing China and the past culture to life again, to understand what it would have been like years ago before the oppression,” she said. “I think that’s quite important to see the brightness and the light of the Chinese people that came through with the dance.”
“It was beautiful. I just closed my eyes and just listened. It was so beautiful. You really felt yourself soaring with it.”
“I don’t know how long they’ve trained for, but [they’re] very, very good,” she said. “The training must have been immense to really perform as they did ... very talented.”
Ms. Kiamtia-Appleby described Shen Yun as “very bright, very cheerful, [and] very powerful,” and shared that she would “definitely want to come back and see it again [next year],” because Shen Yun performs an all-new program every year.
“The skill of the dancers and the storytelling is just what brings you to [see] it,” Ms. Kiamtia-Appleby said.
