(Clearwisdom.net) Taipei, TAIWAN- Shen Yun Performing Arts presents 5,000 years of Chinese traditional culture through Chinese classical dance and vocal music. The benevolent and beautiful art awakens sleeping souls and injects pure and simple beauty into this world filled with depravity. Mr. Kao Hsin-Tan, a two-time Golden Bell Award winner for the best TV news host, said that Shen Yun's performance was "of the ultimate beauty that gives me the joy of a long-felt need being satisfied."
Mr. Kao is a former Secretary at Taiwan's embassy in Turkey, an associate professor at the Chinese Culture University, a TV news host, and an author of many popular books. Mr. Kao has watched the Shen Yun Performing Arts Chinese New Year Spectacular every year since it started coming to Taiwan. He will not miss the 2010 show.
Mr. Kao Hsin-Tan, a two-time Golden Bell Award winner for the best TV news host
Truthful, Compassionate and Beautiful
Mr. Kao's overall impression of the performance was simply stated with three words, "truthful, compassionate and beautiful." He believed that no matter what kind of backgrounds the people in the audience came from, their hearts were bound to be elated and full of joy and yet they would be moved to tears.
Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution depicts the tribulations Falun Gong practitioners suffer in China because of the persecution by the Chinese Communist regime. Mr. Kao couldn't forget the pain and sorrow he perceived in the hearts of the people that were near the practitioners. They wanted to help but were afraid of the persecution by the Communist regime. In the end more and more people stood up against the violent persecution.
He said he was glad to see the bright side of human nature. "Faun Gong practitioners' strong will lets them survive the suppression and their lives gain eternal sublimation -- this moved me to tears."
First Class Art
"A family is torn apart because of the persecution and the grief they suffered. The Shen Yun performance did not bring forth hatred from the beginning to the end. It was filled with care and love. All I can say is -- beautiful art."
Mr. Kao believed that the message Shen Yun is trying to deliver is that of caring for mankind and the pursuit of freedom and beauty. "To protest against unreasonable evil with music, dance, and beautiful pictures is unique and very precious."
Mr. Kao said that he could feel his heart beating while watching and he wondered how this show could be so beautiful and moving. Kao said the Spectacular inspired the good side of people and he felt that it was divine. "That is the reason why I feel carefree and joyous after watching the show. The music is nothing but extraordinary and the colors and costumes are first class."
Mr. Kao praised the artists for their outstanding dance skills. The male artists were powerful and masculine and the female artists graceful and elegant. The two were well-balanced. The ethnic dances in Dance of the Yi, Mongolian Chopsticks, and Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain were especially eye-catching. The scenes on the backdrop reminded Kao of the beauty of the grand deserts in Xinjiang and Mongolia.
What amazed him was the perfect and natural coordination of the 3-D backdrop with the artists on the stage. He was curious about such presentation for he had never seen it elsewhere. He commented that the concepts of the lyrics of the songs were wonderful and of high quality, much better than the lewd and decadent music and songs in current society.
Costume Designer of Shen Yun Should Win Hong Kong Film Award
The absolute beauty of the costumes and the kaleidoscope of colors dazzled Mr. Kao's eyes and he said, "The costumes match flawlessly with each scene." He said Shen Yun's costume designer should win a Hong Kong Film Award and suggested to promote it as a new fashion.
Mr. Kao asked to thank the director for putting in so much effort to make the flow of the programs so natural, especially since all the scenes were geared toward inspiring kindness. "How otherwise would I want to watch the show three years in a row? I definitely have a good feeling from it."
Mr. Kao felt that the scenes The Five Millennia Begin, The Udumbara's Bloom and Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope bring out the kindness in people's hearts. Programs such as Mulan Joins the Battle, The Monkey King Triumphs, and Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride skillfully used folk stories to teach traditional virtues. He believes Shen Yun educates while it entertains. He suggested everyone should watch the Spectacular because it truly frees the soul.
Shen Yun Should Tour China and Restore Chinese Culture
Mr. Kao felt deep sadness that the CCP almost destroyed all good traditions and virtues during the Cultural Revolution and nowadays in China there isn't much anyone can do to recover it. He believed that if Shen Yun could tour China for several years, its dances and stories would let the Chinese people understand the preciousness of Chinese culture and it would help greatly with reviving the culture.
"If I were a high ranking official in China, I would invite Shen Yun to perform in China because it would help the people to be courteous and teach them to gradually accept traditional culture.
"It would definitely help to stabilize society and revive Chinese culture through its performance.
"Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao should watch the Spectacular. Then they will know what Chinese culture and virtue really are and learn how to recover these treasures."
