Shen-Yun

So apparently I've already developed a reputation on here to the point where people are expecting me to write reviews for the latest shows I've seen... I didn't realize haha. I've actually seen a number of shows already since the last couple of posts that I haven't bothered to mention or write up on here- partly out of laziness and partly because I have to be in a certain mood to write up those kinds of impressions to begin with, which doesn't happen often enough. I guess by request (this is for you, Becky) I'll do a bit of a write-up here, although more impression than review as judging dance productions isn't really my kind of thing. I'd be interested in hearing perspectives from actual dancers, though.

Most recently I was up in SF over the weekend to see the much fabled advertised Chinese dance production, Shen-Yun, with a few folks, and which if you didn't know already (or couldn't tell from how often people advertising it in the streets of SF will throw fliers at your face as you're leaving a theater production) is apparently run by some cultish Chinese offshoot of Buddhism/Taoism called Falun Gong/Falun Dafa that officially claims to not have anything to do with either... which is probably correct. This influence came across rather clearly in the production itself, what with almost all of the operatic songs (am I using the term correctly?) having propaganda-ish lyrics: "the world will be destroyed, and only after following Falun Dafa will we be saved!"... or something like that, don't quote me on it.

The dances themselves were the real highlight of the show, showcasing influences from what I guess would be fantastic stories in Chinese history and just the general culture of the laypeople, although considering who operates the show, it's bit hard to judge how accurate the stories are to the original... stories themselves I guess, without having foreknowledge of them. Regardless, I was entertained enough by the dances themselves; the production quality was pretty good and some of the visual effects the dancers pulled off with their props were mesmerizing in a way. The performers themselves are pretty talented at what they do. Better than what I would expect from a cult- okay fine, I'll stop saying that.

That said, the first time I saw a cartoon character in the background animation suddenly pop out from underneath the screen as a real-life person, it was a bit jarring, if not amusing.... actually, I'm not sure how well animation fits with historical interpretive dance anyway; considering the quality of the background animation, it felt a little unnatural if anything, looking more like a polished version of the kind of graphics you might see in a video game like Age of Empires... 2. Or maybe it's somehow more authentically Chinese that way- I don't know haha.

Some of the scenes depicted in animation were really weird, and part of me wonders if it's just a cultural thing or whether native Chinese would consider it normal for random ancient and modern Chinese laypeople and Buddhas to fly across the sky and slay dragons and battle toads with magical giant rings and invisible... whirlwind powers... or something. while dancing and somersaulting. I don't even know. Actually that description makes it sound more surreal and awesome than it really was. It was a bit more mixed in reality.

(For some reason right now I'm randomly reminded of the penultimate Avatar: The Last Airbender episode where the gaang see a hyper-exaggerated theatrical production based on their own travels over the course of last three seasons. Best episode ever, but besides that perhaps the same kind of analogous interpretation.)

Overall, I thought it was a worthwhile performance to see once as well as an excuse to dress up just for the heck of it. They said they change up the show every year, but I'm not sure if I'd be willing to see it again so soon given the price of admission (~$80) though.