(Minghui.org) Shen Yun Performing Arts kicked off its Asia tour with two sold-out performances in Hachioji, Japan, on December 26 and 27, 2022. The company then continued its Japan tour with performances in Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nishinomiya, Kyoto, and Kamakura on December 29–January 15.
This season, Shen Yun is scheduled to stage 32 performances in ten Japanese cities.
Shen Yun World Company kicked off the company’s Asia tour with a sold-out performance at the J:COM Hall Hachioji in Hachioji, Japan, on December 26. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun World Company at the Fukuoka Sunpalace Hotel & Hall in Fukuoka on December 29. The company presented four performances December 29–31. (The Epoch Times)
After the New Year, Shen Yun presented two performances in Hiroshima at the Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall January 2–3. Shown above is the company’s curtain call on January 2. (The Epoch Times)
On January 6–9, Shen Yun World Company presented five performances at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun World Company presented two sold-out performances at the ROHM Theatre Kyoto in Kyoto on January 11. (The Epoch Times)
Ms. Asaki Yumemi, former performer with the Takarazuka Revue, at the Shen Yun performance in Nishinomiya on the evening of January 9 (The Epoch Times)
Ms. Asaki Yumemi, former performer with the Takarazuka Revue, saw Shen Yun in Nishinomiya on the evening of January 9.
“It’s marvelous! The dancers’ dynamics and facial expressions are very impressive... I was touched. It’s really beautiful. I want to try this dance, if only once,” said Ms. Asaki, who now teaches dance and singing in addition to performing.
“The live orchestra is powerful. But I know it’s very difficult to dance on stage in step with a live orchestra... But the dancers were excellent on this!
“The colors were gorgeous, so beautiful. That bright and colorful, it was like a dream world. It also represented China’s aesthetics. So wonderful,” she said.
Ms. Asaki enjoyed Shen Yun’s last piece. “A fight between good and bad, and at the end, the divine manifests itself. I really like this kind of story ending. I think the divine is watching over us and will give us happiness at the end,” she said.
Mr. Baku ZinZyu, executive of Sumitomo Electric Industries, at the Shen Yun performance in Nishinomiya on January 8 (The Epoch Times)
Mr. Baku ZinZyu, executive of Sumitomo Electric Industries, saw Shen Yun in Nishinomiya on January 8.
“Shen Yun’s performance is very invigorating. It’s excellent. I felt a lot of energy. I felt being uplifted,” said Mr. Baku.
“It really is extraordinary. I was very moved to see it,” he said.
Mr. Baku said the performance was so beautiful and he wished he had more eyes with which to see more details of the show.
“To be honest, I have never seen a performance as high-level as Shen Yun... No matter the music, the dance, or the expressiveness, all are fantastic. Shen Yun is beautiful, powerful, gorgeous, and magical. It’s very enchanting,” he said.
Mr. Harano Akira, president of an acupuncture and moxibustion clinic, at the Shen Yun performance in Nishinomiya on the evening of January 9 (The Epoch Times)
Mr. Harano Akira, president of an acupuncture and moxibustion clinic, saw Shen Yun in Nishinomiya on January 9.
“The male dancers are masculine, valiant, and majestic. They performed many difficult [movements], spinning, flipping, and jumping. Their dances are very expressive with even their fingertips presenting the details,” said Mr. Harano.
“The female dancers present elegance by using their bodies, limbs, and hands, and even the subtleties of their costumes. I kept on wondering how they can be so soft, graceful, and noble,” he said. He was also amazed by the dancers’ synchronization and accuracy.
“They jumped high but landed on the stage quietly. Their dancers are like playing a pre-recorded movie, which is really incredible... I was shocked when I saw they danced with very difficult techniques but presented them with ease,” he said.
Mr. Harano said all Shen Yun dancers are talented but humble.
“There’s no primary dancer in the dance. But you also can say every artist is the main actor, the main actress. They cooperate with each other harmoniously and dance one story after another vividly... I guess the director must be a very powerful and admirable expert,” he said.
Mimori Aika, former dancer with the OSK Nippon Revue Company, at the Shen Yun performance in Kyoto on the afternoon of January 11 (The Epoch Times)
Mimori Aika, former dancer with the OSK Nippon Revue Company, saw Shen Yun in Kyoto on January 11.
“The moment the curtain opened was very wonderful... Heavenly maidens dancing, everything from toe tips to fingertips was very expressive. Very beautiful,” Ms. Mimori said.
“[The male dancers] had amazing jumping skills. So touching... As a dancer, I benefited a lot from it,” she said.
Ms. Mimori hoped that more people could come see Shen Yun. “I myself too, I want to see it again... I think this kind of traditional things should be passed on. I want more people to come watch it,” she said.
Mr. Kawamura Shinji, president of a Japanese construction company, at the Shen Yun performance in Hiroshima on January 2 (The Epoch Times)
Mr. Kawamura Shinji, president of a Japanese construction company, saw Shen Yun in Hiroshima on January 2.
“[Shen Yun] is really awesome, absolutely wonderful. I felt an electric current run through my whole body when the curtain was first opened,” Mr. Kawamura said.
“[Shen Yun made me] feel that this year will be a good year,” he said.
Ms. Sakai Reiko, president of yoga company Sun Territo and director of the Japanese Temple Yoga Association, at the Shen Yun performance in Hiroshima on January 3 (The Epoch Times)
Ms. Sakai Reiko, president of yoga company Sun Territo and director of the Japanese Temple Yoga Association, saw Shen Yun in Hiroshima on January 3.
“During the performance, I felt going beyond the limits of the human body, making me feel connected with the divine!... I feel that the body can really expand possibilities simply under one’s own control,” Ms. Sakai said.
“I could feel a great amount of hope and strength simply through watching the Shen Yun performance,” she said.
She said of the show’s final piece: “That beam of divine light made me feel full of hope... That’s a kind of hope. The costumes and the background blended into one. It made me feel living hope and strength. It was (divine) light and a sense of holiness!”
Mr. Nakamura Akio, executive of a beauty products company, at the Shen Yun performance in Nishinomiya on the evening of January 9 (The Epoch Times)
Mr. Nakamura Akio, an executive of a beauty products company, saw Shen Yun in Nishinomiya on January 9. He said it wasn’t only Shen Yun’s production that was beautiful, but the show also has strong inner beauty and power.
“Shen Yun brings us what is true and good,” Mr. Nakamura said.
“Shen Yun’s artists are not pursuing material profits. They are pursuing real kindness,” he said.
Ms. Liu Ruoshui, visiting scholar from China, at the Shen Yun performance in Fukuoka on December 31. (NTD Television)
Ms. Liu Ruoshui, visiting scholar from China, saw Shen Yun in Fukuoka on December 31.
“Very touching, very good. This is our real Chinese culture,” Ms. Liu said.
She said that “there are many evil things” in society right now, and therefore traditional values such as “benevolence, honor, and etiquette” presented in Shen Yun are very needed to clear them away.
“Every performer’s inner strength was very very good... Seeing the effort put in by everyone to pass on Chinese culture, I feel very touched,” Ms. Liu said.
Shen Yun continues its 2023 tour with upcoming performances in Berkeley, California, January 16; Columbus, Georgia, January 17; Montgomery, Alabama, January 18; Greensboro, North Carolina, January 18; Colorado Springs, Colorado, January 18–19; Lausanne, Switzerland, January 16–17; and Kawaguchi, Japan, January 17–19.