Shen Yun Performing Arts brought a host of cultural feasts to Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, Canada, from March 14 to 16.
Movie theater owner Micheal Smith drove 4 hours with his wife to watch the performance. “I love the colors. The choreography was excellent. The music … all around, it was probably one of the better shows I’ve ever seen.”
“A lot of hard work. You can see it’s really paid off. A lot of the choreography in the dancing was flawless,” he added.
“We have the taste of a beautiful culture. It’s good. Great job,” Pastor Brahm Jarrah said.
Canadian Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis was also among the audience. “The music, the dancing, the backgrounds are all phenomenal.”
Bill Rock is the mayor of Amisk village. “I really loved the digital backdrop. And I love the storytelling, and the whole explaining of the story beforehand.”
“The athletes, the dancers were absolutely professional. And they were amazing. Their jumps in their spirals and their flips and their timing and everything was beautiful,” said Tina Caron, owner of a hockey skating company.
“Their enthusiasm is inspiring. And I think a lot of people will walk away feeling very refreshed from seeing all that youthful engagement,” said education director John Brosda.
Audience members said they felt touched by Shen Yun’s mission: to bring back the 5,000-year ancient civilization of China. That was before communism sought to wipe out the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
Financial planner Steffan Shelemey said: “it’s a special performance. I got a little teary-eyed. Very touching performance, to see how communism has oppressed a good faith. And to see this performance and to speak out and to create awareness, I think it’s very special. And so it’s very touching for me.”
Mr. Genuis added: “I know that in China’s history, the concept of beauty has always been really important. And it comes through very much of this presentation here on beauty that has yet been suppressed by the political situation right now. But it’s such a beautiful celebration of China’s history, China’s culture, and traditional values.”
“The tradition is not about just who is running the country. It’s about the people, and the lots of variety, lots of different cultures that come back with China. It reflects the beautiful, beautiful culture. Hopefully one day we’ll go there and enjoy the true culture without all these regimes going on there,” Pastor Jarrah said.
“It was very, very educational. Very, very educational with what happened pre-China and then at the end with the COVID thing. I thought it was cute. It was good. I liked it. I liked it a lot,” said Mitch Caron, president of an oilfield company.
His wife Ms. Caron added: “ We are for the Chinese people to revive their faith and not get prosecuted for their faith. And if this is something that supports that, that these performers can bring some of that truth. I’m for it.”
Many also resonated with the values conveyed through the dances and music.
“It’s nice to see the strength of people; stand up for something that’s good, and to fight against something that can be quite terrible. And that takes strength, that takes courage, and you can lose good people along the way. And they tell that story really well,” added Mr. Shelemey.
His brother, financial planner Nathen Shelemey said: “I really enjoyed the soprano, the singer, talking about God, because that’s very important to me. And that banner, that was in one of the dances that talked about truth, compassion, and forbearance. That was very special. And I can really feel it in my heart. And I just really like that message is portrayed.”
Mr. Jarrah said: “It is mixed culture that is not just about China. It’s in Europe, on the west here, the savior has to come on having to help us. As mankind we do our best, but without the help of the powerful God we can’t do it without His help.”
While Shen Yun continues to perform in Canada, it will also travel to Florida, California, and other U.S. states for the remainder of March.
NTD News, Edmonton, Canada
