(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts dazzled
audiences at the Gamage Theater in Phoenix on March 27 and 28, 2009.
Ms. Mackey, a musician, was in the audience. "I love it. It is so dynamic,
full of energy and sensitivity, and gentle. It's just more than I ever
expected," she said with a glint of happiness in her eyes. "It is all
just amazing. It's just beautiful--the lines, the fluidity with which they carry
out their moves is just so inspiring.
"The orchestra is just superb, superb, absolutely. And the singer and the erhu
[a two-stringed Chinese instrument] musician--they were wonderful."
She was very impressed with the combination of Western and Chinese instruments
in the orchestra and the Chinese dances and songs. "It's very wonderful to
watch. It's a complete package."
Mr. Pleasa, who works in the aerospace industry, was highly impressed with
the show, saying, "The show was fantastic, one of a kind, inspirational,
exciting, extremely well done. Excellent stage performance--I cannot say enough
about it."
He felt the spiritual, almost divine aspect to the show. "There were four
or five [ways] in which I think this show was magnificent. I think the spiritual
part was one of the best. We were with several people from different cultures,
and everyone found inspiration in the spiritual parts for very personal reasons.
It was one of hope and freedom, I think, and also of goodness. The performance
was magnificent in that there was virtue ... In so many different areas the
dance performance, the choreography, the precision of the choreography was
unparalleled. I don't think I have every seen anything quite like it. Some of
the dance moves I have never see before, and, in fact, some of them were so
exceptional that I would not have thought them possible. Also the costumes ....
and the stories that went with all of the dances. I loved the two-stringed
instrument--it sounded so beautiful that it got right to my heart and past
it."
His acquaintance, Mr. Noel, also in aerospace as well as medical, scientific,
and industrial technology, said, "I love everything about it. I love the
costumes, the programs, the singing, the orchestra--everything. Spirituality and
science mix together perfectly for me. I think one supports the other, and so,
as a scientist, I have particular appreciation for the spiritual message
presented in the show as a message about the whole cosmos. I like that
part."
Ms. Sunstein, an actress and one of the first graduates of Bennington College, attended the show with her friend, Ms. Allensworth. Bennington College in Vermont was the first to include visual and performing arts as important curricular elements of a liberal arts education.
Ms. Sunstein, an actress and one of the first graduates of Bennington College,
and her friend, Ms. Allensworth
Ms. Sunstein said enthusaistically, "It was just fabulous." She
especially enjoyed the program about the eccentric monk who saved a village from
calamity.
Ms. Allensworth said the fan dance struck her most. The flowers on stage
"were like our petunias." She also liked the distinct colors of the
costumes and the backdrops: "It is unbelievable. You almost think you're
there." Ms. Sunstein agreed, "I think the special effects are
unbelievable. They really add to the show."
Ms. Allensworth and Ms. Sunstein were moved during the dance "Heaven
Awaits Us Despite Persecution." Ms. Allensworth explained, "I
cried because it was so real. It was so real. The thought that it brought home
was that we could be in that position [of being persecuted]." She felt
grateful for freedom of belief, "How lucky we are. I don't think we realize
how lucky we are."
Stage veteran Ms. Sunstein commented that the dancers "were completely
together. [They] were just
beautiful. Dancers are the workers. It's the toughest discipline there is."
Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts