(Clearwisdom.net) Brendan Smyth MLA, Deputy Leader of the local branch of the Liberal Party, was so thoroughly impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts after seeing it last year, that he sent a card of greetings to welcome the New York-based company's return to Canberra.

He joined the highly appreciative audience on Saturday afternoon, May 22, and highly praised the show as, "Lovely and very exciting."

Liberal Party Deputy Leader, Brendan Smyth MLA. (Courtesy ACT Government)

Mr. Smyth found time between the six government portfolios he manages--among them treasury, tourism, and business and economic development, to make sure he came to see the show.

"I think it's the totality, the colour and the movement, and the songs and the orchestra are very good. I particularly liked the archers' piece," Mr. Smyth said, referring to Imperial Archers, where unseen arrows whiz through the air as archers practice the skill once esteemed in ancient China. "It was very well done," Mr. Smyth said.

"I particularly like Chinese culture, have for a long time, so it's nice to see this aspect of it," he said.

"I've been to China itself so I find it [Shen Yun] quite interesting. I think it's very successful."

Egyptian Ambassador: 'Everything was perfect'

On Friday evening, May 21, Shen Yun Performing Arts opened to a full house. Many audience members who had seen the world-renowned show before were eager for the return of the show, which presents Chinese classical dance and traditional music, depicting stories of China's culture from 5,000 years ago through to the present day.

His Excellency, Omah Matwallly, the Egyptian ambassador to Australia.

His Excellency, Omah Matwallly, the Egyptian ambassador, found the show "very nice," exclaiming, "The music is marvelous and the performance and everything was perfect, really."

Mr. Matwally was moved by the singers, adding, "The music was perfect actually." He enjoyed the masterful fusion of traditional Chinese and Western music created by the Shen Yun orchestra, saying that "it makes it very good."

Mr. Matwally explained he thought that overall the show presented the Chinese culture "in a very good way, in a perfect way... because I'm coming from a country which has a long history ... so I could understand that and I could share the same ideas about the performance of today."

As a diplomat, Mr. Matwally felt the show contributes to our society, concluding, "Yes of course it's reflecting the Chinese heritage and civilization in a very good way."

He said that he would recommend the show to his colleagues, "I would encourage everyone to come and see this very nice kind of art."

'Very different and very interesting'

Ian d'Souza, a policy officer, also enjoyed the performance, commenting, "Oh beautiful. I've learned a bit more about Chinese culture ... and Falun Dafa. It's quite interesting. I haven't been exposed to that before. My parents have gone to Beijing a few times but I didn't know about the culture that much, the dancing and classical music was very interesting."

Originally from India, Mr. d'Souza was fascinated by the fantastic dance movements and impressed by "the women dancing with the handkerchiefs and the archery. And also the one with the lantern ... ." Lanterns depicts the traditional warmth and happiness of the Chinese New Year, emitting a glow of goodwill and inviting good fortune.

Mr. d'Souza continued, "What I actually do like is the way it is so well coordinated with 16 or 17 of them all moving at the same time and all well-coordinated every time." As a child, Mr. d'Souza had himself taken part in Indian cultural dances and thus had a deep appreciation for the "fabulous" choreography and costumes in the Shen Yun performance, summarizing it as "very different and very interesting."

Mr. d'Souza's ticket was one of about 100 tickets purchased by his fiancé's company, ActewAGL, electricity and gas suppliers, who sponsored the group's outing.

Source:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35945/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35933/