PHOENIX, Ariz.—Shen Yun Performing Arts played before a full house at the historic Orpheum Theatre on Sunday, March 10. Among those in the audience were Dr. Mark Lanus, computer science consultant and musician, with his son Howard Lanus, a student of Asian archaeology.
New York-based Shen Yun has been on its worldwide tour beginning in December 2012 and will end its season in the spring. Due to the atheist communist regime, China’s divinely inspired culture has been all but destroyed, and Shen Yun’s mission is to restore China’s culture to the world and to the people of mainland China.
The Shen Yun Orchestra is the first of its kind, combining classical Chinese instruments such as the erhu, pipa, and dizi with traditional symphonic Western instruments, resulting in a sound that inspires the imagination and touches the heart.
Dr. Lanus, who is in multiple bands and has a recording studio, felt the music was “beautiful” and “perfect.”
As someone who has read Journey to the West, one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, Dr. Lanus also enjoyed seeing an episode of the classic work, Sand Monk is Blessed, performed on stage.
Shen Yun’s soloists have achieved world acclaim for their singing, the feat made more difficult when combining Chinese lyrics with the bel canto technique. Each singer is accompanied by a pianist, and Dr. Lanus especially appreciated the talents of the tenor and soprano, saying they had “beautiful voices.”
Besides being a musician, Dr. Lanus holds a Ph.D. in computer science and commented on Shen Yun’s digitally mastered backdrops saying, “Beautiful graphics … how the dancers would jump off here and then reappear in the animation, that was quite unique. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Dr. Lanus’s son Howard also commented on the backdrops, saying he had never seen this technique before either.
Mr. Lanus enjoyed the humor in some of the pieces, and said “the Falun Gong story [An Unexpected Encounter] really moved me.” This dance unfolds in a park setting where a father and daughter are introduced to the spiritual discipline Falun Dafa and are mistakenly arrested. Mr. Lanus said that he was “sad that it is taking place” and felt “motivated to try and do something about it.”
Guimin Guan is one of China’s most celebrated tenors of recent decades. Designated as a National First-Rank Performer by China’s Ministry of Culture, and later named an “Outstanding Professional and Contributor” by the Foreign Ministry, he has recorded soundtracks for over 50 movies and television shows. Mr. Guan sang “Where are people from?” at the performance.
Mr. Lanus said, referring to Mr. Guan’s song, “The tenor was really moving.”
Dr. Lanus enjoyed the spiritual concepts of Shen Yun and said, “the performers made me feel a lot happier. It was very uplifting.”
Both father and son agreed that they would recommend Shen Yun to family and friends
At the closing of the performance Shen Yun received a rousing standing ovation.
Reporting by Albert Roman and Maria Banks.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is scheduled to perform at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 15–17. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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