Exquisite dancing and athletic flips, performed in perfect harmony. The audience at Shen Yun’s first stop on its UK tour was amazed by its artistry.
“The ladies, how they moved, it was as if they were just floating on air, and that was really special to see,” said Imogen-Lily Ash, a professional dancer who watched Shen Yun on Jan. 2 at the ICC Birmingham.
“I can really feel the different emotions. Some stories are really uplifting and happy and others are more… it gets you, very much inside,” she added.
At the heart of each Shen Yun performance is classical Chinese dance, an ancient art form known for its deeply expressive movements. It draws on China’s five-millennia-old culture.
“What’s coming across to me is the long-standing values that have endured for thousands of years,” said Ian Stidston, a captain at the Royal Navy who watched Shen Yun at the Liverpool Empire Theatre on Jan. 4.
Formed in New York in 2006, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive authentic Chinese culture. But those traditional values were almost wiped out in China under communist rule, where Shen Yun has not been allowed to perform.
Stidston said it was such a shame that Shen Yun could not perform in China.
“I think that is such a significant loss to the people of China who deserve to see something as inspiring and beautiful as Shen Yun is delivering,” he said. “A show like this should not be missed. It’s a fantastic evening out.”
It’s a performance that exceeded the audience’s expectations.
Todd Morgan, owner and President of Comprehensive Energy Services, has seen Shen Yun’s Symphony Orchestra perform twice in Florida. But it was in Birmingham on New Year’s Eve that he saw the the full performance with the dancers on stage for the first time.
“It was absolutely awesome. It was way more than I had expected. Just the colors and the dancing, it was outstanding,” he said.
NTD News, Birmingham and Liverpool, UK.
