The performers of Shen Yun Performing Arts, playing at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre, danced their way into the hearts of Vancouverites during seven shows in the city.
Federal Multiculturalism Consultant: 'There should be more performances of this kind'
On the afternoon of April 5th, Ronald Leung, spokesperson and consultant for Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, watched the show. He said the show was "very wonderful" as it portrayed Chinese traditional culture through dance, music, and song.
Many traditional values such as "perseverance" and "never giving up" were also expressed. "These are the links between modern people and ancient people - they are unchangeable," said Mr. Leung, a veteran journalist and news critic in Greater Vancouver and one of the top 100 most influential Chinese in British Columbia in 2006.
He learned to play the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument, at one point and particularly enjoyed erhu soloist Mei Xuan's performance.
Mr. Leung said, "Shen Yun displayed the stories of ancient and modern times just to the right extent. There should be more performances of this kind to promote multiculturalism in a country like Canada."
Orchestral Pianist said the performance represents the essence of Chinese culture
Ms. Manlu, a former pianist with China's Central Philharmonic Orchestra (the predecessor of China's National Symphony Orchestra), watched - and was highly impressed by - the Shen Yun Performing Arts show.
During the intermission, Ms. Manlu commented on the show, "I think today's performance represents the essence of our Chinese culture. It is also very creative. All the Shen Yun pieces and music are original - this is very precious. The arrangement of the programmes is also very good. It is very artistic. The music has the characteristics of China. There is also Chinese classical dance, and the orchestra is composed of both Chinese and Western instruments. The quality of it all is very high."
Ms. Manlu told The Epoch Times that Chen Rutang, the conductor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra, was her colleague back in China. Mr. Chen served as manager of China's Central Philharmonic Orchestra and was a cellist in the orchestra for three decades before he moved to the United States.
The Shen Yun Orchestra is unique in that it combines Western and Chinese instruments - something Ms. Manlu said is not easy to do. She was also fascinated by the groundbreaking animated backdrops that interact with what's happening on stage.
Investment Company Manager said Shen Yun is of very high level
Mr. Wen, manager of an investment company in Vancouver, attended the show and was enthralled. He particularly enjoyed the rich context and the elegance of Chinese classical dance. He said that every programme was wonderful, particularly the dances. Every dance programme had deep implications. His favorite programme was "Welcoming Spring."
"The gorgeous fans in the girls' hands and the joyful dance made me rather happy. The moment when the flowers bloomed was extremely beautiful. When the fans extended into flowers, and the flowers in the backdrops bloomed, it was so spectacular.
"They were obviously very high level with solid fundamental skills." He said that as a Chinese, he was very happy to see such a good performance in Canada.
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