The Essence of Chinese Culture – Shen Yun Performing Arts
Remember Bowser, the evil turtle-dragon in Super Mario? Does Yamcha in Dragon Balls ring a bell? All the Spirit Warriors fans, can I hear a Hell Yeah?!
No matter who you are, or where you’re from, you must have come across Mulan at some point and fallen in love with the character. And who hasn’t felt that sudden adrenaline rush when Bruce Lee comes on screen. So what do all these things have in common? Answer: they all come from China.
We have grown up around all things Chinese, whether its movie characters, games or cartoons. What’s more, we have grown to love them. The roundhouse kung fu kicks, the fascination with qi, C-Pop music, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, we can’t imagine our world without them.
In such times when the Chinese culture has become an ingrained part of who we are, it’s important to understand what the culture really is about. And Shen Yun Performing Arts is bridging that gap. Using art, dance and music as their medium of expression, the Shen Yun Performing Arts festival brings China to stage.
Do not be fooled, this isn’t just another old dance and song recital. These performances are a completely different experience. Each dancer embodies absolute grace, composure and technical perfection when performing on stage.
Incorporating modern dance in their traditional Chinese dances, the performers put on flawless shows. Whether they are loaded with heavy silver jewelry, clapping and thumping along to a beat in the Miao dance, or mesmerizing the audience with their royal Manchurian dance moves, every movement and gesture of the performers is spot on.
Apart from these dances, the famous balance-the-bowls-dance, or as they call it, the Mongolian dance, the Tibetan dance and the Korean Ethnic dance are also performed. Accompanying the dancers will be authentic Chinese musicians. Using Erhus, Pipas, Gongs, Dizis and Penglings to provide the sound, trained singers serenade the crowds with their Shen Yun singing which is, by the way, an advanced version of tenor singing.
Dance performances that transport you into the history of the country, music that will make you sway and artistic direction that will take you back 5000 years into the past; the company is going all out in making sure that they bring the real China to you. Vibrant colored costumes, designs that would put the biggest fashion houses behind, their dedication to accuracy is admirable. Coupled with state of the art props and high tech light shows, this is one festival that is going all out in recreating the true Chinese culture on stage.
And are they doing a bang on job? Yes they are. Audiences have been awed, rave reviews have been published, and it seems like they just can’t get enough. The fans call the show a delight to experience, “beautiful,” and “groundbreaking.” And if that’s not enough, celebrities such as Donna Karan (Can we say DKNY?), and Drew Carey can’t help but gush over how much they enjoyed the experience.
Bringing the Chinese culture to the American audiences in the most interesting way imaginable; music and dance from the Shen Yun Performing Arts become the magic carpet on which we are taken on a journey across China. Have you seen any of the shows? Let us know of your experience.
Image courtesy: By Tony Yazbek (http://www.carnivalofcultures.com/multimedia/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons