LAWRENCE, Kan.—Shen Yun Performing Arts visited Lied Center of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 12. Audience members were thoroughly entertained and left with a good impression of the magic of Shen Yun.
“It was like magic,” said Ann Hedrick, Artist. “With what looked like clouds below, and all the dancers coming up from the clouds in their beautiful costumes.”
Hedrick felt there were messages of hope conveyed through the performance and asserted her understanding that “we all need to work together in unity to create the goodness that we want.”
“It was unbelievable,” said Hedrick. “I really enjoyed the energy and the beauty and the unison of everything that was done. It was really uplifting.”
The colors of the traditional clothing worn by the dancers and the connection they had with the background scenery made a vivid impression on Hedrick.
“They were magnificent, and I was even drawn to the background photographs, and the waterfalls and the beauty of all of that, that just seemed to make it all so magical,” she said.
Jane Asbury, emeritus professor of painting was impressed with the traditional culture and expressed the wish to see even more in the future.
“It seemed to me that they were very much in keeping with the traditional training, and they were just expert,” said Asbury.
“The spiritual deities coming down to help the living, and I thought that was just charming the way it was done,” she said.
Positive Messages
The themes expressed through music and dance were perceived as largely positive and full of hope.
“I think the messages were by and large actually very positive ones,” said Asbury. “That when there are trials and tribulations, that things will come out ok in the end. If it isn’t by human doing it, it will also be by doing with the supernatural beings.”
The colorful visuals, vibrant coordination of the dancers, and the fusion of ancient Chinese and classical western instruments in the live orchestra combined for a powerful effect.
“What stuck out is how expressive a lot of the movements, you really didn’t even need to know the story to really feel what was going on, through the motion,” said Asbury.
“I loved the use of fabric, as part of the dancing,” she said. “And the swirls of the scarves and the skirts and the traditional costumes, as it was used as part of the movement was just fantastic.”
“The visuals were fantastic,” said Diane Childs, music educator. “All the costumes were beautiful the orchestra was good, my husband’s a former band teacher so we always enjoy [the music], and it was live, that was great.”
Diane’s husband John Childs, a former band teacher, also wholly enjoyed the music in the fusion of east and west.
“I really enjoyed it,” said John. “The mixture of the Chinese instruments and the standard instruments, it was great. I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
“I hope everybody would come see this if they had an opportunity,” he said.
“I enjoyed hearing that, as a music major,” said Diane. “It was educational.”
Held in high esteem, the experience of witnessing Shen Yun‘s revival of China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture came highly recommended.
NTD News, Lawrence, Kansas
