(Clearwisdom.net) Traditional Chinese culture was at the heart of Shen Yun Performing Arts' three-show run at Edmonton's Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on April 15-16, 2009.
Mr. Yakimishyn, a Ukrainian dance instructor, singer/songwriter and composer, was among the audience. He had came to see the performance with his wife last year. He said, "It is very beautiful, graceful, flowing, dynamic, dramatic. I love all the different patterns, the different story lines. It's a very beautiful show, very wonderful."
Mr. Yakimishyn, a Ukrainian dance instructor, singer/songwriter and composer
He commented on two dances, "Welcoming Spring" and "Udumbara's
Bloom." "I love the flowers and how the flowers opened, the
pink flowers and I also loved the other flower dance, with the flower that
blossoms every 3,000 years--that dance was very beautiful, very stunning. It
just seemed to have a radiating love, a sense of vibration of love, and it seems
like it was at the core and essence of humanity, it just seemed to have that
sense. It struck me that way and I could feel it down my spine."
Mr. Yakimishyn shared, "I felt a revelation, an opening of consciousness of
humanity and an awareness of the eternal, of the divine, it seemed to have that
sense. And that it is something very, very special. I liked the promoting of
peace and love and humanity; that is something I consider I feel very close to
in my heart, and I can see it very much in the dancers. I can see it very much
in their feelings, through their expressions, through their movements. I can
relate to that very much as a dancer and a performer myself."
Mr. Yakimishyn was also very much enjoyed the beautiful music played by the
orchestra, "Oh, beautiful music. Very professional musicians! You can tell
the people have spent many, many hours in training. The music was very
well-orchestrated. The arrangements were very beautiful. With the dancers it all
blended very, very beautifully. I loved the two-stringed instrument [erhu, a
Chinese two-stringed fiddle]. She played so beautifully, right from the heart,
you could feel her vibrations coming through in her music, very
beautifully."
Mr. Yakimishyn said the erhu gave him a "very profound feeling" and
that its sound went "right to the core" of his being. "It is
beautiful when an artist can bring this out in their instrument."
He said, "Through the beautiful presentation, you have a sense, a sense of
the people of ancient times. It's not just the present times. I think the
culture is the most beautiful way to express tradition."
The message he is taking with him and will remember for a long time is,
"The tranquility, the peacefulness, the discipline and the focus on heart
and expressing your peace from within, in your expression through your dance,
through your art, through your singing. I think that those are the high points
of humanity."
Teacher felt impacted by the Erhu sound
Ms. McKenzie, a teacher, and Mr. Kanak, who plays the Japanese drums, attended the show and were inspired by the "completeness" of the performance. "It was very complete. It had visual effects, it had a story, and also the music in the background. It was a whole performance, everything worked very well."
Ms. McKenzie, a teacher, and Mr. Kanak who plays the Japanese drums
Ms. Mckenzie said, "I really, really enjoyed the drummers. The
choreography was exceptional. All of the pieces are very athletic and very
colorful, and the use of movement and costume together is just stunning in the
way it works for the audience."
"It all meshes together to tell the story, each piece is very well
done," added Mr. Kanak.
Ms. Mckenzie also commented on the beauty of the erhu, a traditional Chinese
instrument, played by Mei Xuan. She said, "Beautiful sound, her playing was
very emotional, her playing really touched my heart."
Mr. Kanak appreciated the orchestra with its unique blend of Chinese and Western
instruments. "Musically it was very good. It kept the audience engaged in
it, it was very fast-paced movement. They all played well together, they were
all in time."
He was also thrilled by the "impressive" drumming pieces. He said,
"I do Japanese drumming, so I enjoyed the rhythms quite a bit and they had
a lot of movement, a lot of choreography. It was very well done, very precise.
It was very good."
Folk dancer from Israel was highly impressed with Shen Yun Performing Arts
"I feel that it was really, really nice. The dancers were very
professional. The movement was excellent," said Ms. Tzur. Now 52, Ms. Tzur
performed Israeli folk dancing until age 30. Her troupe performed in many cities
around the world, including Toronto, New York, Belgium, and Mexico City.
Ms. Tzur (R) and her companion
She said the Shen Yun dancers perform with "lots of energy, lots of
emotion. They are really good dancers," she said, praising their delicate
hand gestures and the way in which so many dancers were able to move in sync.
Ms. Tzur especially enjoyed "Welcoming Spring." "The
Chinese dancers are elegant," she said.
Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15535/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15513/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15509/
Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts