KITCHENER-WATERLOO, Canada—Yves Richard and his daughter, Emily, were charmed by the opening Shen Yun Performing Arts’ performance they attended at Centre in the Square theatre Tuesday night.
“We liked the dancing, it is perfect,” said Mr. Richard, an Industrial Technology Adviser with the National Research Council.
“I liked the dancing,” agreed Emily.
“We also liked all the singing. I really enjoyed the pieces of music from the baritone and soprano—very good,” added Mr. Richard.
New York-based Shen Yun, which aims to revive the essence of China’s rich traditional culture, has three equally large companies touring the world, each with an orchestra and bel canto vocal soloists.
“The soprano blew me away. Her range was amazing, and the fluctuations in her voice. And the male singer was very good too.”
Mr. Richard said the stories told in the songs “had a touching meaning. They left an impact—something to take away, make us reflect.”
“I liked the second song talking about the divine and the spiritual. I thought that was nice to know that Chinese culture places importance on spirituality, because that’s something I find is important to have.”
Shen Yun presents ethnic and folk dances as well as classical Chinese dance, one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive dance forms.
Mr. Richard noted the calibre of the dancers.
“They are very skilled dancers,” he said. “I was impressed.”
He added that he found the dancing “spiritual and emotional, and very artistic.”
“It’s very emotive, lots of emotion, lots of grace.”
With reporting by Becky Zhou and Joan Delaney
Shen Yun will be in Kitchener-Waterloo for one more performance before heading to Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts for a five-show run.
For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.
