Classical Chinese dance and music company Shen Yun brought ancient culture to the stage in London this weekend, at the opening of their UK tour.
After almost two years of the pandemic and lockdowns, the audience at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith told NTD they felt hope after watching the performance.
Founder and principal of Skylark School of Dance in London, Anya Zhavoronkova was born in Russia. She said she was touched by the performance, particularly with what’s happening in Ukraine.
“I’ve lived in the UK all my life, but I was born in Russia and with the current affairs seeing something like this, the message is so positive; the compassion… I think it’s very valuable. It was valuable yesterday, today and it will still make sense tomorrow, and it’s incredibly important,” she said.
Caroline Desmarais Mitchell, an executive coach who watched the performance with her daughter said it’s important to share the richness and beauty of art.
She said, “There’s a lot of suffering going on in the world; to be able to see this celebration of diversity and culture, it’s just great.”
China was once known as the ‘land of the divine’ and the ancients believed that Chinese civilization was divinely inspired. It’s a culture that was almost destroyed under communist rule.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the authentic Chinese culture.
Artist Kourosh Wallace said he appreciated seeing this culture on stage.
“It’s wonderful to learn this part of Chinese culture because we don’t get to see this a lot ….it was a really beautiful side of the culture to learn from and be entertained at the same time,” he said.
For theatergoers, it’s also a relief they can see the arts again.
Performing artists and engineering buyer Karen Wilkins described the performance as “heavenly.”
“I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as that in my entire life. They are incredible. Their dancing is amazing,” she said.
“It’s essential to unite people,” said Zhavoronkova, “It’s essential to continue being creative. I think that’s really important… that creative outlet for people to be able to just really let go of their emotions, let go of their fears, and be able to really enjoy the art.”
The theatre was full, with extra seats added for the opening weekend. They’ll be performing in the Hammersmith Apollo until March the 13th before they go on to Birmingham as they continue to showcase and revive the wonders of traditional Chinese culture.