Renowned Violinist Enjoys Shen Yun’s Music, Dance, and Production

Feng Xue
By Feng Xue
April 13, 2019Shen Yun
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Renowned Canadian violinist Andrew Dawes enjoyed the visual and aural components of Shen Yun Performing Arts, which when combined seeks to illustrate the beauty of a thousands year old culture said to be inspired by the heavens.

“The Erhu solo, she was very good, she was a very good player,” said Dawes. “And the orchestra sounded very good, yeah it was very good. The backdrop was really well done. It really added something to it. Having all the animation at the back there. The big screen with all the figures going up into the sky, going to the moon and stuff. It was very well done.”

Dawes is known for being first violinist of the Toronto-based Orford String Quartet for almost three decades. He was also Professor of Music at the University of Toronto and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia School of Music.

The musician has also acted as a judge in several music competitions including the London International String Quartet competition, the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

He attended the performance of Shen Yun at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, Canada, on March 31.

“The wonderful agility of the dancers, how wonderful they are,” he said. “How great the ensemble is, how the orchestra fitted so perfectly with the dancers and how everything was so smooth. Beautiful costumes, it was a wonderful spectacle. It really is.”

Traditional Chinese culture was imbued with virtues and values that stem from the ancient Chinese belief in Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and other spiritual practices.

According to its program book, through about 20 vignettes of classical Chinese dance and solo musicians, Shen Yun provides a glimpse into a cultural treasure that is nearly lost.

“I admire people that feel strongly about something, like religion or music or whatever, and so I thought that was really nicely done,” said Dawes. “I appreciate how strongly people feel about Falun Gong and everything that is involved with China, and mainland China and persecution.”

“I think it’s good that we don’t lose our culture, for things to go so quickly, we lose too many things. So many beliefs and structures that were present once in society and so I think it’s a nice gesture for people to try and revive this or recover the old myths, the old stories, the dancing, all those things, they are certainly very important,” he added.

Katherine Feng NTD News, Vancouver Canada

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