(Clearwisdom.net) A chilly autumn night had Canberra audiences more than happy to take up their seats in the packed Canberra Theater to see Shen Yun Performing Arts on Monday March 30.

Marion, a retired dancer, loved every part of the performance. "I couldn't see anything you wouldn't like in it. The costumes, the dancing, the singing, the music, the scenery--just everything. They're really to be congratulated. Brilliant job. I haven't got enough words to say how beautiful the whole thing was ... I just loved every part of it."

Marion, a retired dancer

"The finale was very spectacular, but I think as far as the staging was concerned, the dance where the mountain comes tumbling down--how they organized that, was so great. The dancers had to be perfect, in their right spots at the right time, for that to come down in the background. You know, they're all to be admired, really admired."

Marion recalled the singing, which she described as "beautiful ... so strong and so powerful. I've never heard Chinese voices like that. Usually we hear very high pitched Chinese voices, and this was so deep and beautiful. The males--and the ladies, too--were just wonderful. The lyrics were very moving, very emotional, very spiritual--there was sort of a story behind every one of them, and it was just something else. It was also very deep and meaningful, just beautiful. I don't think we have lyrics like that so much in English songs."

She said she had come to a new understanding of Chinese culture through experiencing Shen Yun.
"I hadn't realized that there was so much behind Chinese culture. It was a learning curve for me, as well as just being so entertaining and just lovely." The final scene, "Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope," was the most moving for her, she said. "I got very teary, because it was, again, such a big production ... I just loved it."

She added, "I really didn't know what to expect . I had no idea what it was going to be about. And I was just so pleasantly surprised, and, yes, absolutely, I would go and see it again and again. The costumes and the dances and the beauty of the whole thing was just wonderful. I didn't want it to end."

Susie Alympic (L), a former artistic director of the Adelaide Folkloric Society

Ms. Alympic, a Canberra public servant with a particular penchant for the arts, came to see something different. "The dancing is fantastic. The costumes are brilliant. I loved the costumes--they are gorgeous," she said.

Ms. Alympic's comments came with some authority as she was previously an artistic director for the Adelaide Folkloric Society and has seen many groups audition. She said, "Overall, it was fantastic."

Tanya, of Indian nationality, also enjoyed the show, saying that it was "the gentleness, the active flow of it" that was her first impression. Describing herself as "an artist at heart," Tanya said she loved dancing and that was why she had come to see Shen Yun.

The dancing was "wonderfully light and athletic and gorgeous," she said, noting the Eastern influences and the range of "artistic hand movements." Unfamiliar with Chinese culture, Tanya said she felt she was getting a glimpse of it through Shen Yun. "I liked the mythology coming in, I like all that. I loved that court scene with a number of costumes, and that very sad one about following your spiritual needs and then being punished for it. I think that little child was magnificent."

Commenting on the digital backdrops, she said, "They certainly incorporated the technical things and the electronic pictures with reality very well.

"I loved the tenor and the soprano. I could sit and listen to that for a long time. It doesn't matter that the language is different, I still enjoyed it very much."

Local couple Fred and Pamela thought the show reflected Australia's strong multiculturalism that allows everyone to take part. "The show was very colorful. It is very interesting to see the traditional arts of the Chinese," said Pamela.

"I think people should come and see this show to learn something of the culture of other groups in the community," she added, talking about the many different ethnic groups in Australia.

Fred came especially came to hear the world renowned singers, two tenors and one contralto. "Being a bit of a singer myself, I reckon the singers are absolutely wonderful. I especially came to hear the man and the lady sing," he said.

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/14485/

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