LOS ANGELES—Marilyn Giardino is a filmmaker and college professor of world mythology. Her studies include those of China, so when she saw Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on the opening night on Friday, Jan. 13, she “loved it so much” that she wanted to bring all her students to the performance.
“I have studied ancient Chinese mythology, and I have studied the gods and goddesses of ancient China, and I teach this to my students all over the world,” she said.
“But this is the first time I have been able to see it in action, brought to life by these beautiful performers.
“If I could afford to bring my entire class I would—they would learn so much,” she said.
Ms. Giardino said the symbolism in Shen Yun was “strong,” noting as one example a particular dance performance using long sleeves.
“Like the scarf, it’s like Nüwa, who created the first humans, used her scarf, in the water and the mud, and she flung the scarf, and little people fell, little pieces of mud fell, and became human beings,” said Ms. Giardino. “She also hand-molded humans from clay, which is almost very similar to Biblical ideas, because when you see mythologies around the world, there are quite a few other civilizations who believe man was made from the earth, from clay.”
Ms. Giardino was referring to the performance Sleeves of Silk, which depicts a famous and much-loved classical Chinese dance known for its lovely expression through long gossamer-like sleeves that act like extensions of a dancer’s arms.
“It is a magnificent performance, such precision, such beautiful costuming,” Ms. Giardino said of the whole show, adding, “and the moves, and the music, and the soul of the performance, is so phenomenal.”
Ms. Giardino brought her friend, Mikael Sharfyan, a costume designer and artist, to see Shen Yun.
He too was taken with Shen Yun, noting particularly the ShenYun backdrops, unusual in the way the company combines digital technology with action on the stage.
“The backdrop was fabulous. It was quite unique, because you basically interact with the background,” he explained. “The characters come forward and I have never seen it before.”
Ms. Giardino said she had wondered about that too.
“You know I have seen animations in backgrounds before, but it has never come forward, mountains open, goddesses come out of the mountains,” she said in describing some of the digital combinations.
“I mean they come up out of the floor!” she exclaimed, about the performers who appear to jump off of the screen onto the stage.
Mr. Sharfyan said Shen Yun had transported him into another world, noting the Shen Yun music, which is composed in-house and includes a unique combination of Chinese and Western classical musical instruments.
“It’s quite amazing, it’s beautiful and magical—the music was magical. We felt that we were in a different world.”
Ms. Giardino said that what they were really seeing was how she imagined a “divine China” would be.
“That’s where we were,” she said.
Mr. Sharfyan was so inspired by Shen Yun that he said he felt he wanted to buy a ticket and go straight to China, but checked himself, saying, “But the China of this particular production you know, because we know that China is not like this right now, unfortunately.”
“It would have been fantastic,” he added wistfully, “it’s very unfortunate.”
Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving traditional Chinese culture, largely destroyed through the Chinese Community Party’s brutal Cultural Revolution and also targeted in the persecution of Falun Gong, an ancient meditation and exercise practice.
The company is not able to travel to mainland China under the present regime.
“Yes it’s very sad to know that … this should not have been happening,” Ms. Giardono said, about the destruction of the culture in China.
People who had not seen Shen Yun were “missing something,” she said.
“You are missing a part of the world that you will never see anywhere else. You won’t even see it in China. It’s history, it’s art, it’s culture, it’s music, it’s dancing—all of that.
“How can you walk on this planet and miss that?” she asked. “That’s an important part of the history of mankind.”
Mr. Sharfyan agreed, saying: “They’re missing a lot, a lot,” noting China’s 5,000-year-old history.
Ms. Giardino said Shen Yun had been more than just entertainment, for her. It had been a spiritual journey to a part of China that was just not possible to see in the mainland today, she said.
“Maybe not China today, but in the hearts and the minds of Chinese people everywhere, there’s a soul, there’s the soul of the Chinese people.
“When I come to a performance like this I’m praying,” she said. “So for me, it’s a spiritual experience.”
Mr. Sharfyan said Shen Yun had been very meaningful for him too, and that it had also been “very inspirational.”
“Now I’m all inspired, I can just go home and sketch and try to recreate what I just saw today … because literally, I was picturing myself designing those clothes, for some kind of production,” he said.
Reporting by Sound of Hope Radio Network and Shar Adams.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at The Music Center through Jan. 14.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
