TORONTO—Fashion designer Mary Duldouras has been infatuated with design and aesthetics since she could crawl, but experienced the visual treat of a lifetime at Shen Yun Performing Arts on Friday at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.
Ms. Duldouras, a fashion designer, stylist, image consultant, and educator, attended the Jan. 18 performance and fell in love with Shen Yun’s costumes.
“I love the blending of the colours, it’s unexpected, totally different spectrums of colour combinations that you wouldn’t see in western society,” she said. “The movement, the fabric is gorgeous—you can see the history of China and the historical influences there—just breathtaking.”
Ms. Duldouras studied fashion in Europe and Canada, and owns a fashion company operating primarily in the GTA. She has been designing clothing collections for decades and is also an instructor and applied arts coordinator at Seneca College.
Ms. Duldouras was amazed at the unique colour combinations in Shen Yun, which are unconventional yet have an overall harmonizing effect.
“I like the use of colour—the combinations are not common today,” she said. “There’s contrast in the colours. You can tell that the quality of the fabric is based in silk, and the movements were so beautiful with the dancers and the music working together in harmony.”
According to the Shen Yun website, every detail in the costumes is considered in order to achieve “harmonic balance and contrast.”
Shen Yun’s costuming added to the surreal feeling of some of the story-based dances, Ms. Duldouras said, making the artists appear as if floating across the stage.
“It’s very elegant. I’d describe them actually as butterflies, very organic and natural,” she said, adding the dancers were exceptionally talented.
“I find the dancers to be very well trained and disciplined. Very colourful and beautiful as well.”
The costume artists use brilliant colours to create hundreds of new handmade pieces each season, says the website. The designers’ objective is “an authentic presentation of the attire that comes from China’s divinely inspired traditional culture, and a consummate stage effect.”
New York-based Shen Yun is a world-renowned classical Chinese dance and music company. Featuring story-based dance, an orchestra that includes traditional Chinese instruments, digital backdrops, and vocal soloists, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
“I found it very educational to learn about different parts of China and the cultural experiences,” said Ms. Duldouras, adding classical Chinese dance was “very moving” and technically impressive.
“The girls are all so beautiful and so delicate. The movement of their feet technically speaking is exceptional.”
Shen Yun’s dance dramas capture the essence of traditional Chinese culture, which has a long history of spiritual devotion, says the Shen Yun website.
Ms. Muldouras said she was very inspired by the spiritual themes, one of the most memorable parts of the show for her.
“I like the spiritual component and I found that to be very interesting,” she said.
“I was born in Canada, and growing up here, it’s a rare opportunity for me to have exposure to the [Chinese] culture and the spiritual beliefs as well.”
The spirituality and positive themes in the show provided an excellent teaching tool for her son, she added.
“I brought my son, I really wanted to expose younger people to refinement and historical components, spirituality, and the discipline found in the dance and in the music,” she said.
“Young people seem to be engrossed in violence, games, and things. And I wanted to expose him to some balance in his life.”
As well as being a visual and spiritual feast, Ms. Duldouras said the traditional Chinese instruments in Shen Yun’s philharmonic orchestra were a unique treat.
“So expressive and unexpected—the instruments are almost speaking to us,” she said. “I go to opera and I support the arts in various different ways, and I find this very unique and expressive, almost like a voice of their own.”
Reporting by Lisa Ou and Justina Wheale.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Following 21 successful shows Dec. 20-Jan. 13 in Mississauga, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Hamilton, Shen Yun’s New York Company is in Toronto for five shows Jan. 17-20, completing its tour of eastern Canada. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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