(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts, a dance and theater company that has taken the world by storm, opened at Calgary's Jubilee Auditorium on Easter Sunday afternoon and touched the hearts of theatergoers. Calgary dignitaries gathered at a reception after the first show. Among them was the highest-ranking official from the Calgary Board of Education, Ms. Hubert, who thanked the performers and sponsors for staging the performance.

"I am very pleased and honored to represent the Calgary Board of Education at this wonderful performance," she said. "The performers were extremely talented, the costumes were stunning, the choreography was extremely complex, and I want to congratulate you on a flawless performance."

New Tang Dynasty Television had sponsored many Calgary students to come to the show, donating over $3,000 worth of tickets.

"For many of our children, this would be the first time any of them have ever been to this wonderful facility...and for many of them, this would be the first time they had seen a program of this caliber."

A student representative also thanked New Tang Dynasty for the tickets, saying the performers had taken them to China. "The performers from Shen Yun are very incredible people," said Joe Wang, president of New Tang Dynasty Television Canada.

"They perform with their hearts, they perform with their compassion, and everywhere they go, they bring hope. And for that, and on behalf of NTDTV, I want to thank the incredible artists from Shen Yun."

Former School Principal: They are not just dancing--they are living a story and you can feel it

Mr. Brignall, director of information systems for a financial company, came to experience an afternoon of classical Chinese dance, music, and storytelling. He was accompanied by Mrs. Brignall, former principal of an elementary school.

Mr. Brignall, director of information systems for a financial company, and Mrs. Brignall, former principal of an elementary school (NTDTV)

Having a background in technology, Mr. Brignall was particularly impressed with the digital backdrop, a trademark of Shen Yun that uses modern technology to help tell ancient and modern stories.

"I think the backdrops actually help tell the story that they are portraying. The animation in the backdrops--it's not just still pictures--but the animation is fantastic. ... Most times the backdrop is purely static, a picture, a place, that type of thing. But the animation back there, blended with the choreography, is fantastic," he said.

Mrs. Brignall commented on the performance, "It's beautiful. That coordination, the technology and how you see them coming out of the [backdrop] and coming down, and all of a sudden they are on stage. It helps tell the story. It's fabulous. The material of the costumes is beautiful, it just flows; beautiful colors."

She was also impressed by the professionalism of the live orchestra, "Everybody is so in sync. It's blended beautifully. It's hard to describe."

Mr. Brignall described the dancing as "phenomenal" and was inspired by how the traditional drumming "gives you a real sense of involvement," as the drummers entice the audience with their powerful energy. "You feel almost part of it as you are watching the drummers on the stage. It is a really interesting, adrenaline-pushing type of thing," he said.

He also experienced this "sense of involvement" during ["Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution"] in which a father is persecuted for practicing the traditional spiritual discipline of Falun Dafa. "The little girl is very good. ... The little girl within the family when the father was arrested ... Again, you become one of the characters, you feel the empathy for them, especially in their pain at that point."

Mrs. Brignall was touched by the way the dancers expressed their inner beliefs through their movements. "I think the stories and the expressions, the mix of the old and the new, and the culture and the passion they have, and the belief they have--you can feel it in their faces and expressions as well as their music. ... They are so involved in the dance. They are not just dancing--they are living a story and you can feel that."

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15226/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/15228/