Thespec.com for community published a Canadian artist Ingrid Mayrhofer's "Shen Yen not as advertised"on January 02, 2015. Her article describes the process from booking to be forced to watch. She believes that the booking process is deceptive,Shen Yun performances mixed with Falun Gong and political overtones,Shen Yun advertisements inconsistent with the actual performance.
Ingrid Mayrhofer wrote，For a change from our traditional x-mas attendance of the Nutcracker, I thought I'd treat my partner to the show of Shen Yun this year. The advertising and website promised "5,000 years of civilization. Live on stage!" at Hamilton Place.
Buying tickets seemed simple enough: click on "ticketmaster." However, my first red flag went up when the e-tickets arrived and identified Falun Dafa as the presenter of the show. Not fond of religious cults, I wanted to cancel. Second surprise was that Ticketmaster could not find my reservations, and a closer look at the tickets identified the sender as "ticketbox.com" instead. That web address linked back to the Shen Yun main page.
A call to the presenter got me voice mail, and the credit card company said they could not stop my payment. An online search for more information about Shen Yun turned up many negative comments from other viewers and a claim by Falun Dafa that they stood for "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." While the group's lack of truthfulness was demonstrated by their marketing approach, and their lack of compassion didn't allow me to return the tickets, we took them up on forbearance and went to see the show.
The show tried our patience right at the beginning with garish electronic imaging and loud western instruments. The background projection outdid the dancers on the stage with visual fx, and the military-style sound smothered the hall. Approximately 20 minutes into the spectacle, the announcers began to talk about Falun Gong and how the Chinese government persecuted the sect, offering the next dance as an illustration thereof.
She said， I am convinced that bad art is worse than no art at all. My expectation of the aesthetic of protest art is that it should challenge the dominant culture in order to motivate those who can bring about change. Shen Yun does neither, nor does it celebrate 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Instead, it uses cartoonish visuals and blaring sound best left to Disneyland.
Ingrid is a visual artist, curator and community arts practitioner. Her personal and collective projects have employed a wide range of media including printmaking, photography, mural painting, installation, sculpture, and video. During the past 20 years, she has served on numerous individual and organizational grant juries at arts councils, on foundation and municipal advisories, and worked as granting officer at the Ontario Arts Council. Mayrhofer is a member of the programming committee at TPS.Her Website：www.ingridmayrhofer.ca.
Photo of Ingrid Mayrhofer
