Shen Yuh a Spiritual Hit

OTTAWA—Theatregoers attending Shen Yun’s three sold-out shows last Sunday and Monday at the National Arts Centre gave a warm welcome to the New York-based classical Chinese performing arts company visiting Ottawa as part of its 20-country world tour.

Senator Elizabeth Hubley, who spoke at the VIP reception Sunday afternoon, adjusted her travel plans from Prince Edward Island to attend the opening show. A veteran dancer and dance instructor who serves as artistic director and principal choreographer of her own dance studio, Senator Hubley said she was delighted she came.

“The show was absolutely stunning. It was just astonishing in its exuberance and its colour, in the choreography, in the music. It was enjoyable from the beginning to the end,” she told The Epoch Times.

The production, she said, has a “very special spiritual aspect” to it that she found moving. “Moved to tears, absolutely ... The show far exceeded my expectations.”

Shen Yun is a company of leading artists that aims to revive the traditional Chinese culture through excellence in classical Chinese dance and music, taking inspiration from China’s ancient myths and legends as well as modern-day events.

Its programs evoke timeless themes of virtue, compassion, courage, and faith as they reflect the spiritual devotion underlying the culture of China that thrived before decades of communist rule.

MPP Randy Hillier, who also attended the reception, noted that the solo performances by tenor Guan Guimin and soprano Geng Haolan “tell of those common beliefs and common values and ethics between people. You learn more of the culture and the foundations that are similar between all people.”

Gertrude Stutz, owner of the Cartier Place Suite Hotel, winner of the 2008 Travelers’ Choice award, also praised the show. “It was beautiful, beautiful,” she said. “I enjoyed it very much. It’s unbelievable what they can do,” she said of the artists.

A music ensemble group from Ottawa’s Ashbury College performed during the reception.

“We have students from 30 countries at Ashbury, so the opportunity to see performing arts at this level and of this calibre was an opportunity for our students and ourselves to see the show and to support it,” said Tam Matthews, headmaster at Ashbury.
“I learned an awful lot [about ancient Chinese culture]. I learned about the simplicity, the generosity of spirit, the faith in humankind; so it was illuminating,” he said.

“The dances and the singing and the costumes were just superb,” said Chris Carruthers, Chair of the Ashbury College Foundation who is also Chief of Staff at the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital Group and an orthopaedic surgeon. “It is good entertainment and a lot of fun.”

Ottawa city councillor Jacques Legendre praised erhu virtuoso Mei Xuan for her performance on the two-stringed Chinese instrument. “She was almost talking. You could see she mastered her instrument. She is a true artist,” he said, speaking in French.

With two daughters in dance, Mr. Legendre is used to attending dance performances, but found Shen Yun unique. “It was different and amazing. … Bravo to everyone!”

City councillor Georges Bedard saw Shen Yun last year and enjoyed it so much that he came back. “I thought the show was phenomenal,” he said, adding that the presentations of classical, ethnic, and folk dances of China were “helping people understand each other.”

“You simply have to see it to believe it. ... It was just spectacular,” said city councillor Glenn Brooks, who noted that he was most touched by two dances that depicted the persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice rooted in ancient Chinese traditions.

“We have freedom of speech, freedom of action, freedom of choice, and there are countries around the world that do not have that,” he said.

Former Ottawa Poet Laureate Cyril Dabydeen has attended Shen Yun shows since the production first played in Ottawa in 2007. This time, “what has come to me more beautifully is the sense of the divine—the celestial spirit in all of us—that is really coming to me more forcefully than ever.”

The three Ottawa shows were 99 percent sold out by Christmas Eve, after selling out all top-priced tickets at $129 and $159 by early December.

Due to demand, the NAC, in a rare occurrence over its 40-year history, began selling tickets to the standing-room space at the back of Southam Hall a day in advance of the opening show.

Shen Yun will continue on to Montreal, Hamilton, and Toronto in the coming weeks. The company will then visit several U.S. cities before returning to perform in western Canada in March and April.