Many Professional Dancers Attend Shen Yun in Edmonton, Canada (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) Canada's Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton hosted a sold out show for Shen Yun at its opening show on Monday April 5.

Three Generations of Classical Indian Dancers: "Very Enchanting"

Among the audience at the sold-out matinée were three generations of classical Indian dancers--Usha Gupta; her daughter, Arti Mittal; and granddaughter, Riya Mittal.

"It was very enchanting--very beautifully unique backgrounds and a lot of different movements," said Ms. Gupta after seeing the first half of the show.

Ms. Gupta, who also attended Shen Yun last year, has been a performer and dance instructor for 50 years. She now owns Usha Kala Niketan, a classical Indian dance studio in Edmonton.

She appreciated the classical Chinese dance that is the hallmark of Shen Yun performances.

"They are showing totally classical dances of China," she said. "I could see the softness and a very pure dance of China. The choreography is excellent, very, very beautiful. ... The music is fabulous. [Shen Yun is] known for the music and the compositions. Very well done, very beautifully blended."

Ms. Gupta is a recipient of Edmonton's Salute to Excellence award in the category of Performing Arts and the government of India's Choreography award.

"In India in the old days, people didn't let you go outside very much to dance in front of people. Especially that's how my parents used to be, but now they are very proud of me," she said.

Being a lifelong dancer, she could tell that the Shen Yun dancers possessed "fantastic" discipline.

"Their movements are fabulous, but you have to have a lot of training and discipline. The Chinese are famous for their discipline. Their discipline is very straight, very polished, and very centered."

Ms. Gupta was also awestruck by the hand gestures.

"Every hand gesture has a meaning, you know, so they were doing this one in 'Elegant Embroidery,'" she said, imitating one of the hand movements in the dance program.

"They were doing some movements in a mystical and spiritual manner," she said.

Gupta's daughter, Ms. Mittal, who used to be a dancer and now owns Lola, a lady's boutique in Edmonton, was also impressed by the show.

"It was lovely. The costumes and the whole production are amazing," she said.

Working with clothes and designs herself, Ms. Mittal had particular appreciation for the wide variety of costumes in the show.

"My mother and I were praising the costumes. I mean, they are just beautiful. They are doing an amazing job, colorful and so well coordinated and choreographed," she said.

"I can take a lot of ideas and incorporate them into the Western world, where I present my store. You can take so many ideas--the style of the pants, the style of the shirts--and you can improvise and make outfits out of it."

Ms. Mittal said the costumes played a significant role in the whole production. "So important. Without costumes, half of the effect is gone, I think."

Her mother agreed, saying the costumes "are very, very important ... they were showing one piece, you know, with that light green and pink ('Flowing Silk') and those colors are absolutely [conveying] peace and serenity."

She added that every costume was in complete accordance with the music and dance.

Ms. Gupta's granddaughter, Riya, who trains full-time with her grandmother, is a skilled young dancer herself.

"I think [Shen Yun's] really good," she said. "I like how all the dancers are so in sync and I think it's very well choreographed, too."

The family is planning to return for future shows.

"I'll be here every year to watch them," said Ms. Mittal.

Young Dance Student: "The Whole Thing Is My Favorite!"

Csenge Kozma is a young dance student who studies at Edmonton's Children's Dance Theatre. "They're all my favorites--the whole thing is my favorite! No words can describe it!" she exclaimed.

Miss Kozma was very impressed by the athleticism of the Shen Yun performers. "I would not be able to do anything[like they do]! I want to be like them, so I will take as many lessons as I can from now on."

Miss Kozma's mother helped to introduce her daughter to the arts. "We are from Hungary," she said. "This singing, it's amazing ... it was really nice. Especially the last person," she said, referring to tenor Tian Ge. "This whole show was really amazing!"

She also really appreciated the dual language of the production. "We don't really have a chance to listen to anybody who speaks Chinese and then right away get the English translation. So, it was really 'Wow.'"

Young Miss Kozma's final comments were, "Wow. That's all I can say--Wow!"

Professional Ballet Dancer: "It's Beautiful!"

Sharon Osmond is a ballet dancer, and her many years of ballet have made her a trained observer of professional dance. She was so impressed with Shen Yun's entire production that she wished she had brought her 15-year-old son along. She vowed she would return with him next year when Shen Yun returned.

Ms. Osmond was very impressed with the extremely high skill level of the performers. She said, "Knowing the difficulty and the precision of the spins, keeping your balance, keeping your choreography steps in place, I know, is extremely challenging. They make it look so easy ... so to see this kind of precision and to see this beauty, I think, is just an excellent experience."

Years of dancing have made her very sensitive to the subtleties of dance. "I think they're very elegant. I find them to be, you know, watching their hands, watching their feet, watching their bodies move. I know that the precision and the difficulty behind all of that, keeping it coordinated and making it look so smooth and so fluid, I think, is just, it's beautiful!"

"I liked the Tibetan one. I thought that was pretty incredible," Ms. Osmond said, speaking about the "Tibetan Dance of Praise" performance. "[They have] a lot of energy, and I think the strength comes through"

Ms. Osmond also appreciated the work that goes into the dancers' spinning "because I know that keeping your balance and regrouping after a spin is extremely difficult.

"I think it's beautiful, and I like the spiritual undertone to it as well, and the message. I think it's beautiful. There's a higher power than us and that message comes through and ... there's a different joy other than material joy."

She would recommend Shen Yun to everyone, saying, "I think anybody should try to take it in if they can. They'd enjoy it. It's beautiful."

Source:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/32766/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/32817/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/32816/