KEELUNG, Taiwan—Musician Mr. Chou Chung-Shi watched Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s performance at the Keelung Cultural Center on March 21. Mr. Chou is the director and conductor of the Gu-Feng Orchestra, which has been performing for almost 20 years.
Speaking about Shen Yun, he said, “It was beyond everything I could have imagined. The choreography and the performance of the orchestra were well coordinated and balanced.” He stressed that only a very professional orchestra is able to do that.
Mr. Chou adored the orchestra that combined both Chinese and Western musical instruments. “The erhu artist made the sound of it so sweet. The suona [Chinese oboe] artist did such an exquisite job that it sounds better than oboe, deeper, broader, and with more emotion.”
As well as the orchestra, Mr. Chou savored the coordination between the dancing and the music, saying, “There wasn’t the slightest mistake I could see!”
Mr. Chou also noticed subtle details. “Many subtle details happened in a split second, like the stage lighting and the movements in the Mongolian Bowl Dance, but they were the essence that made you go ‘Wow!'”
“The tenor sings about a man that eventually shall return to heaven. I share that same thought because I am a Buddhist and I believe that. The singing makes me want to return to where I come from even more,” Mr. Chou said.
“In the last scene when I saw a sea of Falun Gong practitioners sit down together, I was really emotional. I received a very special energy that can bring everyone together,” Mr. Chou said.
‘Deeply touched by the lyrics’ in Shen Yun
Mr. Wu Chun-Cheng, general manager of Jinchun Investment Company and a board member of Feng Chi Biotech Corp., saw Shen Yun Performing Arts matinee at the Keelung Municipal Cultural Center, Keelung City, on March 20.
Having seen Shen Yun twice previously, Mr. Wu said the show is so beautiful that one has to see it at least five times.
He praised the orchestra, saying, “With the basis of a Western orchestra, it has the [majestic] feelings of a symphony, while representing Chinese [traditional] music [with the combination of Chinese instruments], and the coordination of the dance and the orchestra is just flawless.”
In addition, he said that Shen Yun “lively and vividly presents classic Chinese masterpieces, such as Journey to the West, and Outlaws of the Marsh, through drama [dance]. It is splendid. These kinds of programs are worthy of promotion.”
Mr. Wu was most impressed by the folk dances of the different regions. He said they were all “created by innovative choreography, accompanied by classical music of Chinese and Western musical instruments. It represented folk dance like the Mongolian Bowl Dance. I like it very much. Of course, the dancers’ postures and skills are so outstanding that no praise is high enough to describe them. Plus the vocal performance and the lyrics, it gave us a very enjoyable feast for the eyes and ears.”
“I’ve read traditional poems, so I was deeply touched by the lyrics of the songs. The lyrics were matched with pictures [on the backdrop]. It is more distinguishing for integrating the lyrics and pictures.”
Mr. Wu was deeply touched and amazed by the tenor, Tian Ge, saying, “The last vocal performance particularly emphasized the Buddha principles [Dafa]. I think people pay more attention to utilitarianism in modern society. So such songs can purify their hearts. The lyrics were just touching people deeply, but it’s difficult to describe the feelings in language.”
Mr. Wu said that Shen Yun opened his eyes for the second time. “I can say that I was just stunned. I was very, very surprised. I often tell my relatives and friends that they must come and see Shen Yun. Whether from the perspective of music, dance, cultural connotation, or from the point of view of faith, principles of Buddha, and so forth, it is worth watching. In addition, it can return beauty to society as well as purify people’s hearts.”
Read the original Chinese article. [1] [2]
Reporting by Li Yun, Hsin-Yi Lin and Lisa Huang
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
