PORTLAND, Ore.—”The costumes are unbelievable. The technique of the dancers is beyond human understanding,” said Tatyana Polyakova after seeing Shen Yun’s second night performance at Portland’s Keller Auditorium on April 3.
“Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun weaves a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales, taking you on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese culture,” reads Shen Yun’s website.
Ms. Polyakova said she was impressed by every facet of the evening’s performance. “Beautiful, talented dancers, talented choreography—amazing. Visual effects. Everything is so precise,” she said. “When the music, the orchestra, accompanied the dancer and the video [digital backdrops], it’s amazing.”
The stunning beauty and tremendous energy of a Shen Yun performance leaves audiences uplifted and inspired.
Such profound and powerful energy was not lost upon Ms. Polyakova. “The music is beautiful. The combination of classic and Chinese musical instruments—it’s the first time in our lives that we hear that,” she added. “It’s amazing, amazing, amazing!”
Ms. Polyakova said she was also struck by the dancers’ flips and turns in the air without “even touching the ground.” And when the dancers were performing a piece about spring, she said she felt as if everything in the auditorium “was blossoming.”
A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance. However, in China, due to the communist regime’s systematic destruction of traditional culture, a Shen Yun performance cannot be seen there.
“We’re from Russia,” Ms. Polyakova explained. “We know what it’s like to be persecuted for what you believe. It was very touching when they did the modern China—that people can’t perform there,” she said, referring to the scenes showing the persecution of the spiritual practice Falun Gong in today’s China.
“It touched us on so many levels,” she concluded. “It’s unbelievable.”
With reporting by Annie He and Michael Fitzgerald
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
