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Ms. Oosthuizen said that watching the dancers brought back a lot of memories, and she enjoyed every dance.
"I thought the Buddhist monks was funny. That gave me a good laugh." Ms. Oosthuizen said, "Every piece had a different feel to it though. It's really different. Every piece is nice in its own way.
I thought the most touching one for me was the student, the girl students and the teacher when she died,” said Ms. Oosthuizen, referring to the dance Our Story in which a beloved school teacher is persecuted as she writes the Chinese words for "truth", "compassion" and "tolerance" on the blackboard—three words that are grounds for arrest in modern day China although they embody the essential values of the Chinese nation since ancient times.
Mum Angeline concurred and added, "That was very good and I liked also very much the Mongolian one with the warriors," referring to the dance Herding on the Grasslands depicting horsemen that gallop in high spirits beneath the blue sky and endlessly green landscape. Angeline said she found it "most beautiful."
When asked about the female dancers, mother and daughter were enthralled:
Ms. Oosthuizen: "Oh they are fabulous very nice. They are so graceful. It touches on their good skills and things like that but it's not overdone in that sense. I like the way it is choreographed. I think they are fabulous."
Mum Angeline: "It's very, very refined, you know the hands movements … It's just very refined."
Ms. Oosthuizen: "I think the arm lines and the hands … that puts a spark on it for me."
Mum Angeline: "It's much more than just classical ballet. It's got a new dimension, an extra dimension with the grace, the hands and the way they walk. Then you have one principal dancer who is absolutely beautiful. She's a standout. In between all of the good ones, she's even a standout."
Mum Angeline also commented on the Shen Yun orchestra saying: "It's fabulous. At first, the fact that there is a live orchestra. It's just beautiful and I love the music that they play and how it's being played. It's beautiful. The whole thing is fantastic."
Ms. Oosthuizen added: "I like how they put the emphasis on the funny bits in the …you know when they mocking it doing something funny on the stage like to hear little sounds that they can add just brings out what they are trying to put across."
Mum: "It's also how the girls use the drum and interacts with the orchestra. That was good. It brings it all together. It's a very special experience."
Reporting by April Shan and Kati Turcu.
Shen Yun, which has thrilled audiences in Australia’s arts capital will now take up residence in the country’s capital with performances March 8 and 9 at the Canberra Centre.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
