Canada's Musical Elite Praise Shen Yun: 'Inspiring and Stimulating' (Photo)

(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts finished its opening night show to resounding applause Friday Night at the historic Canon Theatre in downtown Toronto. Among the appreciative patrons were a pair of composers who lavished high praise on the music and artistry of the New York-based classical Chinese dance company.

"Very impressive, particularly the ensemble and presentation. Immaculate, thoroughly enjoyable," said Mr. Nimmons, a composer and Canadian Juno-award winning jazz musician.

Mr. Nimmons, a composer and Juno-award winning jazz musician.

"The choreography of the dancers, the precision, is quite impressive. Also I find the choice of colors quite distinctive, like the blue was a new kind of blue--they were quite striking when they came out. "

Mr. Nimmons is one of Canada's most acclaimed jazz musicians. He has taught jazz at several major Canadian universities and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor. His recordings are radio regulars, and he has written music for several Canadian television shows.

He was greatly impressed by the high caliber of the performances. "Everybody must work very hard to do what they do all that time so precisely," he said of the Shen Yun performers.

He said the orchestra was something new to him, with its blend of classical Chinese and Western music. "It was an entirely different thing," he enthused. "It was very effective."

He was moved by Xiaochun Qi's solo performance on the erhu. "It was just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. There's a certain quality to that--you feel differently with that kind of music."

He was also taken by the drumming numbers," The Five Millenia Begin" and "Drummers of the Tang Court." "It relates to all of us, rhythm, it's in all of us," Mr Nimmons said.

He was awestruck by the combination of music, dance, backdrops, and choreography. "It's very, very impressive, the total effect . . . the background, and everything. The costumes were just fantastic. ... The entire production is very impressive. Really, all the things that they have done--quite good, most enjoyable."

Mr. Nimmons called Shen Yun Performing Arts a, "new kind of production" and said that if he were asked to rank the show out of 10, he would give it a '15!'

"Moving," he said in a word. "Quite inspiring and stimulating."

Pianist: 'It really stood out--beautiful!'

Joining him in praising Shen Yun was another well regarded composer and Canadian Juno-award winning jazz pianist Mr. Braid, who was also taken by Xiaochun Qi's solo performance. "I loved the moment when the lady played the erhu, it really stood out--beautiful."

Mr. Braid said he enjoyed the mixture of Chinese and Western music and found himself wanting to hear more Chinese instruments. "The most interesting parts of it were when the composer was trying to give us more of the essence of the ethnic background, so I found myself listening, like when the pipa had a bit of a solo, I found my ears tuning in to the details."

Like Mr. Nimmons, Mr. Braid was most impressed with every aspect of the performances he had just seen. "Beautiful and graceful! The costuming was lovely--the colors were lovely."

Orchestra Conductor: 'Like nothing I've seen before'

Orchestra conductor Mr. Stratton was quite moved after seeing the Shen Yun Performing Arts show for the first time on Friday, October 9. "I liked it very much. It was a very extravagant program--I liked it. The dancing is like nothing I've ever seen before," said Mr. Stratton.

"Like nothing I've seen before. I would just say that it was pretty obvious that this tradition understands theater, not just the theater of the eyes, but of the ears as well, and the theatrical effects in the orchestra match perfectly," Mr. Stratton said.

As an award-winning conductor who has worked with many orchestras around the world, Mr. Stratton was thoroughly impressed by Shen Yun's music and said it had a very "distinct sound." He noted the solo erhu performance. "I think the erhu has such a human voice quality to it, really, and of course I like all the Chinese percussion. It's so expressive, it's just wonderful," he said.

He said that he found the show uplifting and watching it helped him take a break from the mundane world. "I had other things on my mind when I came, but I must tell you, the dancing put them out of my mind, and that's really what an evening like this is supposed to do, let you escape a little bit, so my dream was to escape for a little while and I did," he said.

He said that watching the show made him feel positive, and he saw messages and themes of positivity within the show. "That's ... part of the message, that life is not always so pleasant all the time, but it ends in such an affirmative style."

Referring to the last piece "Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope," Mr. Stratton said the ending was "very effective . . . a powerful ending." He that he would like to see the show again and would also tell his family about it.