(Clearwisdom.net) As part of its multi-city Australian tour, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts staged four shows at the Canberra Theatre in Canberra, Australia, on May 21-23, 2010.

Caroline Le Couteur, Greens Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian Capitol Territory.

Among the many dignitaries at the show was Caroline Le Couteur, Greens Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian Capitol Territory.

Ms. Le Couteur thought the Shen Yun show was fantastic.

She was especially moved by the dance set, Nothing Can Block the Divine Path, which portrays the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in contemporary China, saying, "The part with the Falun Gong practitioner that was killed, brought tears to my eyes."

She also enjoyed the performances as well. "There were lots more really, really beautiful bits. The Tibetan group was, I think the standout for me. And the tiger story was great ... there were so many good bits," she said.

While watching the dance set, Splitting the Mountain, Ms. Le Couteur thought the goddess "was an interesting one." "I was wondering what was going to happen to the mountain in that one," she said.

She also thought Mongolian Hospitality, was "wonderful, especially the dancing on the knees, and I've never really seen that before. All in all, it was a great show!"

Human Rights Commissioner: "It's a great freedom of expression celebration!"

Helen Watchirs with her daughter Lara.

Also in the audience were Dr. Helen Watchirs, ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner, and her daughter Lara.

"It's a great freedom of expression celebration," said Ms. Watchirs.

"I like the way the music has a spirituality that is reflected in the dance. It's very calm and peaceful but lots of energy as well. There seems to be a real harmony," she said.

Lara thought the show's calm and peaceful energy was best captured by "the ribbon dance ... and the men with the lanterns."

Her mother agreed adding, "the xylophone is angelic." Lara chimed in, "I liked the drums in a lot of them. It went in time with a lot of the jumps. It was good."

Lara excitedly discussed the dance set, Lanterns, again, saying, "they were really, really in time and they did a lot of really complicated movements ... It was really impressive."

In a Miao Village, also caught Lara's attention, "I really liked the sound of the necklaces," she said.

Ms. Watchirs agreed, saying, "The sound was so rhythmic and went with the dancing and it felt like it was very old; more than some of the other ones."

The Miao people are one of China's oldest ethnic groups, well known for their silver jewellery and fine headdresses. This distinctive dance is enhanced by the movements of the ladies' pleated skirts and jingling bells.

Ms. Watchirs thought that the overall show was "deep, meaningful ... and authentic," adding, it was "a great freedom of expression celebration," and "of course the problems with human rights with Tibet were represented, as well as Falun Gong."

Being well aware of the current situation in China, Ms. Watchirs emphasised, "I mean we see it in the ACT with the demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy, which is respected, and it's great to see it celebrated, not in an everyday way, but in an artistic way."

Former London Royal Ballet Company dancer says Shen Yun has a "Very high standard of dancing"

Lyn Walton, a retired ballet dancer, attended the show with her friend, Elizabeth Williams, a former a visual artist who worked in textile and fabric design.

Ms. Walton found Shen Yun to be "very enjoyable."

Regarding the dancers, she said, "I think the precision of the dancers is very, very good."

"I think that the small [performances] are very clever, very well produced. They tell the story very quickly and very easily. It's very clear what they want to say. Yes, it's easy to understand the story," she said.

Having previously performed with the Royal Ballet Company in London, Ms. Walton was able to readily appreciate the dedication and hard work that went into each performance.

She said, "To achieve that training will take a huge amount of effort. I don't think most people will appreciate that ... it is very strong ... it's a very high standard of dancing ... just their discipline, and their absolute passion for what they do, and their sincerity.

"The extent of the energy that each one of these dancers puts into every single movement, is today, fairly unusual in a big group."

She was very impressed with the dancers' skill and being able to "use the extremities of movements" with "each and every one of them are doing" that.

Giving an example she explained, "To have sleeves that come to the floor and still extend, is very, very difficult [that is], to get that complete flow and movement in 360 degrees that those dancers are doing. ... But also to be able to use that extension with the very, very quiet footwork, the gravity that that these dancers are working with, it's very interesting to see this style."

Regarding the cultural dances in the show, Ms. Walton said, "I think it's always good to see the different folk and ethnic dances from the different areas ... it's very interesting.

"I was interested in seeing the depiction of the different minority groups, because I think we probably don't know much about them here in Australia ... for example the Miao people, and the Mongolian people. It's a lovely depiction of different aspects of the Chinese population."

Ms. Walton concluded, "I'm very glad we came."

Sources:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35987/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35979/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35969/

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Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts