DETROIT—In it’s Midwestern debut, Thursday, at the Detroit Opera House, Shen Yun Performing Arts delivered an unbelievable performance.
Arvin Ayar, CFO of Dimondale Hotels, and Kristen Sagmani, President of COACH (Chaldean Outreach And Community Hope) enjoyed the performance and had much to say about it.
“It was very beautiful; very enlightening. It gives us a perspective of what’s going on in China today, and it was just a very beautiful show. The art was very beautiful,” said Mr. Ayar.
He added that, “It really showed a different aspect of Chinese culture that you don’t get to see today. It was a great experience and I learned a lot form it. I learned and I appreciated the art.” He said that the show had a display of very rich Chinese culture and that from the beginning of the performance throughout, the 5,000 years of history definitely showed.
Ms. Sagmani agreed, and enthusiastically shared how lovely she thinks the show is and how artistic she found the dancing to be. To that she added, “the costumes, the backgrounds, the story that they told just through their dancing. No words, just an entire history. It was very, very beautiful.”
“There was a very beautiful balance between the divine and the humanity. Both aspects were portrayed very beautifully,” she said.
Ms. Sagmani said she especially liked the Flower Fairies. “The flower fairies were beautiful. Oh my gosh, the costumes and the dancing, it was watching a garden come to life! It was really truly … you couldn’t take your eyes off of it. The choreography was beautiful. It was perfect.”
Ms. Sagmani was also enthralled by the performers synchronicity. “The sleeves of silk. It was magical, watching the dancers control of whatever object they were using, whether it was the fan, the sleeves, the cloth … it was magical watching them. They’re so beautiful, they’re so perfectly trained it was wonderful.”
Mr. Ayar agreed, “Just as the dancers becoming one with nature, and one with what they have—the fashion and each other—it was very in sync, a very unified performance.”
“It’s just too bad that something like this would be suppressed in a country with such rich history, such rich culture,” lamented Mr. Ayar. “It’s not just about work. It’s not just about doing your part. Your future can be so much more successful if you embrace your past and you embrace your culture and history, definitely.”
“The thing I noticed that I thought was portrayed very fairly were the very peaceful protests, the people that did not want to fight back with violence, and they just wanted to promote peace. Even with peace there is violence in that country,” Ms. Sagmani said. “And we need to pray for those that are still struggling for finding fairness and peace in their environment.”
After returning home Mr. Ayar said he is going to tell his friends to “come see the show, it’s very beautiful if you want to learn about true Chinese history and true culture, come see the show, definitely.”
‘We have front row seats’
Another delighted audience member, Mr. Joe Rotole, representative for a Machinery Manufacturing company, said, “The music is addictive. It really is. You can listen to it all night, all week. Unbelievable. And the dancing and the outfits—spectacular. They really were.”
“My wife and I both recommend it to anyone, outstanding,” he said.
“Well I’ll tell you what’s memorable,” Mr. Rotole said, “it’s The Choice. It’s not just China, it’s the world over and it struck home with me.”
The Choice is about two good friends who are later faced with being on opposing sides. They eventually experience tragedy, yet under Heaven’s watch, goodness ultimately triumphs.
Of the overall experience, Mr. Rotole said, “You have to be there to see it. We had front row seats, it couldn’t have been better. We’ll be back, we’ll come again. I’ve got six kids—I’m assuming they’ll be back here next year.”
“We have front row seats at the opera here, we have front row seats at the Fisher theater—It was that enjoyable and that entertaining,” Rotole added.
Reporting by Charlie Lu, Julia Song, and Andrew R. Darin.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. The International Company will perform in the Detroit Opera House, Detroit, through Jan. 29.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
