TOKYO, Japan—While most performances offer a lovely evening and good music, Shen Yun Performing Arts is able to move its audiences to tears with its beauty.
“The first dance moved my daughter and I to tears and it deeply touched our souls. Every program was wonderful,” said Kaori Takahashi, the principal of a ballet school.
As a former professional ballet dancer, Ms. Takahashi was deeply impressed by Shen Yun’s exquisite showcase of classical Chinese dance.
“Every movement was choreographed with great ingenuity. The artists were talented, and they were even more outstanding when they worked together as a group. Their complex choreography, tumbling, being light on their feet, and their flexibility were all surprisingly outstanding.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance and music company.
“The level of beauty in each dance was breathtaking,” said Ms. Takahashi.
The dancers use Shen Yun’s patented backdrop technology to pop on and off the stage, creating the illusion that they are flying or even falling off a cliff.
Ms. Takahashi praised Shen Yun’s use of the backdrop, saying it was the first time she’s seen a production use such effects.
“It was perfect! … When I looked carefully, I found that the images were extremely coordinated with the dancers on stage. We were deeply impressed,” she said.
Working along with the dancers and the backdrop is Shen Yun’s live orchestra. Ms. Takahashi shared her praise for the ensemble.
“The music was absolutely outstanding, and the performance of the orchestra was extremely coordinated,” she said.
The erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument that only has two strings. Shen Yun’s erhu virtuoso impressed Ms. Takahashi.
“The erhu soloist was also impressive. I studied violin before, so it was amazing to hear how it created such beautiful music,” she said.
Ms. Takahashi’s daughter also expressed how much she enjoyed the performance.
“From the very beginning, when all the dancers came on stage, I was immersed in happiness and joy,” she said.
Historian: Shen Yun Was Like a Condensed Historical Painting Scroll
Shen Yun’s dances draw inspiration from China’s 5,000 years of civilization.
Senkatsu Hayashi, a Japanese writer and historian, shared that “the performance was like a large-scale, dream-like historical painting scroll, with included ancient humanities and contemporary practical issues.”
He shared that seeing Shen Yun portray tradition and history moved him greatly.
“Such magnificent stories unfolded before my eyes, and I wondered what dances would be next. It made me very excited,” said Mr. Hayashi.
As someone seeing classical Chinese dance for the first time, Mr. Hayashi was very impressed with the technical ability of the dancers.
“Both the male and female dancers were excellent. Although I don’t know the names of the various techniques, the spinning and the flexibility really astonished me,” he shared.
Shen Yun’s website tells us that music was used before medicine in ancient Chinese tradition. Mr. Hayashi said that he felt healing effects from Shen Yun.
“I had not been in good health recently. After seeing the performance, I feel much better. I’ve gained energy from the show. The emcee compared [good] music to good medicine. I thought the statement was very accurate—it really worked for me,” said Mr. Hayashi.
Shen Yun Artists’ ‘Eyes Are Full of Compassion’
Zirou Taka is the head of a video production company and a singer.
While watching Shen Yun, he was particularly impressed by how much the dancers were able to communicate without the use of words.
“Their eyes were full of compassion and warmth. … Although there’s no spoken dialogue on the stage, the artists convey rich emotions through body language,” said Mr. Taka.
Shen Yun’s dances also tell the true story of Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted for their faith in China.
“They suffered injustices and had no place to appeal in mainland China. However, they stood on the side of light and kindness, which was very touching,” said Mr. Taka.
Falun Gong’s principles, truth, compassion, and tolerance also spoke to Mr. Taka.
“I heard the three words of ‘Truth, Compassion, and ‘Tolerance.’ It made me think deeply—I felt hope and believe that the world will become a better place,” he said.
Reporting by NTD, Shibuya Terada, and Maria Han.
From The Epoch Times
