SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

National Ballet of Canada Board Member Says Shen Yun Speaks to ‘Something Greater’ Than Us

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TORONTO—Philip Lieberman, a member of the board of directors of the National Ballet of Canada, expressed his admiration for Shen Yun upon seeing the performance on April 6.

“The message that Shen Yun is bringing to the world is [one] of inclusiveness, of something bigger, that brings us all together. We need that now,” he said after seeing Shen Yun at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in downtown Toronto.

On the afternoon of April 6, Shen Yun’s International Company, one of eight equally large companies touring the world simultaneously, staged its eighth and final performance in Toronto for this year. Despite his regular visits to the Four Seasons as a board member of Canada’s largest ballet troupe, it was Mr. Lieberman’s first time seeing Shen Yun.

“I’ve wanted to see it for years,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be here.”

Mr. Lieberman praised Shen Yun’s adept use of technology in its animated backdrops.

“The thing that struck me is, first of all, magnificent settings, and the magic of the way that they’re using technology,” he said.

He also expressed appreciation for Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which showcases a unique mix of Western and Chinese instruments.

“I think that the orchestra is magnificent,” he said, noting that it’s “a very different instrumentation in the orchestra that I’m used to from the ballet company.”

“The talent is incredible. And again, I love music, and I think the orchestra and the special instruments that are being used really set it apart.”

The music had a spiritual feel to it, according to Mr. Lieberman.

“The sound is, I'd almost say theological, sort of religious in a sense. There’s religiosity overtone. It’s hard to articulate, but there is something very sort of spiritual in the rhythm of the orchestra,” he said.

“I think it is soulful. Yes, very much.”

Since its establishment in New York in 2006, Shen Yun has embarked on a global journey with the mission of reviving authentic Chinese culture and its rich artistic forms through music and dance.

“The culture is very diverse,” Mr. Lieberman said, noting that this “shows in the dance.” Shen Yun’s dance performances include classical Chinese dance and Chinese folk dance and ethnic dance.

Mr. Lieberman also observed the spirituality inherent in traditional Chinese culture.

“I think it is very spiritual,” he said.

“I think if you believe in any level of divinity, of something bigger than us, something greater than us—whether it’s a god or gods, some power or force in nature that really creates the divine—one needs to let yourself be guided by that and be humbled by it.”

Mr. Lieberman applauded Shen Yun’s director and the team of artists, highlighting the importance of the message of humility and contrasting it with the divisiveness and materialism of modern-day society.

Shen Yun takes one back to a “humble [perspective], something ‘greater than,’” he said.

“What is happiness and true contentment? Where does it derive from? I think Shen Yun really speaks to that.”
Reporting by NTD and Allen Zhou.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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