(Clearwisdom.net)

Musical Theatre Performer: "Absolutely wonderful"

Sydney's Big Top Theatre at Luna Park was blessed on Tuesday night with a Shen Yun performance. Wayne Scott Kermond, a fortunate and grateful audience member who is a singer, tap dancer, acrobat and comedian, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company for the first time with his wife Katie. "I think it's very colorful, the dancing is absolutely wonderful, and just really entertaining," he said at intermission.

He went on to say say, "I think the boys are terrific, ... I can understand how hard that is, and particularly with their dance, as well and their stamina ... and with the ladies as well. I guess being a boy myself I can understand the physicality of how hard the boys are working in the show. I think the physicality is absolutely terrific."

As a singer, Mr. Kermond appreciated the music and solo performances, saying, "I think they're absolutely wonderful. I think their technique is outstanding and particularly I have to mention that beautiful piano player, I think she's just absolutely wonderful and beautiful."

With the sophisticated projection system used by Shen Yun to create the backdrops, the song lyrics which are sung in Chinese are displayed in the native language of the city where the performance takes place.

"I'm certainly reading the lyrics on the screen but I'm probably listening more to the song and the voice and the technique, which is obviously very classically trained," he said.

He continued, "The orchestra is wonderful, you can certainly hear the Chinese influence inside the music. I think the orchestra is very dynamic."

Mrs. Kermond particulary enjoyed the gracefulness of the female dancers. Mrs. Kermond is trained in classical ballet and is a former performer in musical theater who now concentrates on producing. She is currently producing the The Candy Man in which her husband stars.

She "...loved the style of the dances in particular the women." She explained, "They're very graceful and the production behind the different scenarios is wonderful, like the different scenes telling the different stories is fantastic.

"You can see the joy and the excitement behind what they're doing. You can see the music how it marries altogether to create pure entertainment which is what it's all about, in its classic form, which is fabulous."

Fashion Stylist: "(Costumes are) Very Vibrant!"

Fashion stylist, Chao Mein Ashwenky was impressed with the costumes, saying they were "very colorful" and "very vibrant." "I thought the color combination was quite well put together, I quite liked it," said the fashion stylist. "The style is very traditional," she added.

Ms. Ashwenky also enjoyed the music, "...especially the baritone, he was very interesting ... [and] the soprano had a fantastic voice." She commented that they were "very passionate," adding, "You can feel it and hear it in their voice and how it comes across."

Principal of Performing Arts School Impressed by Shen Yun

Maxine Cola and Barbara Johnson are both teachers in Sydney, and shared their thoughts during intermission

"Very colorful and very entertaining. Lovely! I love the simplicity. I also like the decorative nature of the costumes," said Ms. Cola, who is the principal of MacDonald College, a well known performing arts school in North Stratfield.

She said that the dancing techniques are very different from those at her school. "It is culturally based quite differently. It has a classical technique underneath it all and quite different."

Her impression of the dancers was very positive. "They are beautiful. They've got a lovely presentation and well disciplined and very elegant."

Ms. Johnson is a high school teacher at a Sydney public school. She said she found the show very colorful and full of history.

Sources:

http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35205/

http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35213/

http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35208/