Shen Yun Performing Arts visited Toronto, Canada on April 4—bringing 5,000 years of culture to the stage. Parliament member Anna Roberts awarded the company with a commendation for its “extraordinary work reflecting the culture of ancient China and its spiritual and artistic heritage.”
“It shares a story with the whole entire country of the struggles and the sacrifices that the Chinese people have made. And it also shows us that there is hope at the end of the day, and I think for anyone that watches the show, they will come away with that satisfaction. Absolutely beautiful,” said Anna Roberts, member of parliament representing King—Vaughan, Ontario.
“The pieces that I’ve seen, it’s like dreams are coming true. And love, and passion, and peace and hope. Hope for there [being] a better future. But what we love most about this is the culture, the sustaining main piece of that culture. The beauty, the costumes, it just brings everything alive,” said Andrea Hazell, member of parliament representing Scarborough Guildwood, Ontario.
“What has come before can teach us a lot. And it’s only when we build on what we already have, what we already know to be right and true, that we can move on to better things, I think. And so you can’t lose your cultural history, it’s part of who you are. And it’s also bringing us up to a higher level,” said Robin Martin, member of parliament representing Eglinton—Lawrence, Ontario.
Inspired by China’s rich heritage, Shen Yun tells stories of ancient myths and legends while also highlighting modern-day communist China’s suppression of spirituality.
“It was also a very important reminder for those of us here about some of the universal human rights, that we all take for granted, our ability to be able to freedom of expression, but also freedom of to practice our own religion, and to be able to be reminded that not everywhere in the world has that freedom and the importance of us not only fighting to protect it here at home in Canada, but also to help others to be able to have those same human rights,” said Kevin Vuong, member of parliament representing Spadina-Fort York, Ontario.
Parliament members commended Shen Yun’s performances for showing the values of kindness and compassion.
“Very inspirational to see this kind of values also in the dance and what the dance is trying to express to the audience. It’s not just beautiful dance and beautiful costumes and beautiful scenery, but it’s also expressing values … Kindness and compassion. And all of these virtues are also being shown through the dance, which is wonderful because it gives you even more layers of meaning within it,” said Ms. Martin.
“It reminds us about the importance of ensuring that we continue to stand up for our values. Kindness and compassion, I know that was an important theme that came out of Shen Yun in the performance but also the importance of faith,” added Mr. Vuong.
Shen Yun will next perform at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada on April 14th and 15th.
NTD News, Toronto, Canada
