(Minghui.org) The eight touring companies of Shen Yun Performing Arts presented over 40 performances in 14 cities in Australia, Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the United States during the week of March 4.
French Musician: “Very High Level”
Philippe Duchesne, a professional musician who is a saxophonist and vocalist, saw Shen Yun with his mother in Aix-en-Provence on March 5.
“It’s just fantastic. Very original, very high level… It’s like a dream,” Mr. Duchesne said.
“Between the screen behind the stage and the reality on the stage, it’s really incredible. It’s the original idea about it… The dancers are fantastic, too. And the music, the tradition,” he said.
Mr. Duchesne said the lyrics of the bel canto solo were “very deep, deep, about life… speaking about what’s happening in the world.”
Sold-out Performances in Lublin, Poland
Czech Audiences: “Perfection”
Prominent Czech screenwriter and director Lída Engelová saw Shen Yun in Prague on March 6.
“It was just the beautiful human side of things… One has seen quite a lot in one’s life, and I think I have quite a grasp of the art of dancing… This, of course, is perfection, which always amazes one,” Ms. Engelová said.
Lída Engelová, who has over 210 productions to her credit, in which she participated as a screenwriter, director, or actress, asked herself as a professional director where the artists got their energy for their performances.
“How is it possible that the tour – and I don’t know how many shows there are in a year on the tour – that it is always with the same energy… Where do people get that energy?… Most importantly, how they probably have an internal, spiritual justification for what they do,” said the recipient of an honorary recognition for a lifetime of outstanding artistic work.
She was also impressed by the opening performance, where deities from across the universe follow the call of the Creator, who leads them on a sacred mission to the human world.
“There are different cultures that believe that something was before us, and it was actually divine, and it came from somewhere in the cosmos,” she said, adding that it’s something “one should think about every day.
“So not just about yourself and exactly what money means and so on, what some of the stories [in the Shen Yun performance] were about, but actually about what the soul is,” said Ms. Engelová.
She said she really admires Shen Yun’s artists and keeps her fingers crossed for them.
Film director Dan Svátek and designer Ilona Koutková saw Shen Yun in Prague on March 6. “The costumes are beautiful. The colors… The whole artistic aspect is great,” Mr. Svátek said. “The connection between that screen and the performers in front of it… that’s an excellent idea.”
Ms. Koutková said, “I’m blown away by the costumes, the colors, the artistic rendering. But of course the dance as well.”
Chicagoland Theatregoers: “You Can Feel the Inspiration”
Pastor Dan Willis, the producer and host of Emmy award-winning Christian talk show “I’m Just Sayin,” and his wife Linda saw Shen Yun in University Park on March 8.
“The show was spectacular. I’m so glad that we were in the front row. Our children bought us this as a gift for Christmas, so we’ve been waiting, waiting for this moment. It’s just literally astounding,” Mr. Willis said.
“To sit in the front row and see the performers and the musicians—I can’t imagine sitting anywhere else in the house because you can see their facial expressions and the passion. Seeing [that] tells even more of the story and makes it more up close and personal. It’s just all perfection.
“Everyone knows that Chinese culture is always handed down from one generation to the next. Their amazing culture [for] years and centuries have been around. To know that could ever be compromised is heartbreaking.
“So, [Shen Yun] is beautiful because it lets you know that despite the political climate and whatever may be going on, the arts are still able to translate centuries-old stories and pass them down from one generation to the next. The arts have become the avenue for history. It’s beautiful,” he said.
Mrs. Willis, too, loved Shen Yun’s mission and agreed that “we should keep all that tradition alive [because] it’s very good for the next generation to know.”
She was also impressed by the dancers’ skill and talent. “We loved the way they’re walking on air—when they’re moving in the dance, it’s so fluid. Very, very beautiful,” she added.
“My profession is with the church and a youth group that does performing arts. I’m so impressed with the effortlessness of each [Shen Yun] performer. The exertion they’re using to dance—but they look like they’re not even breathless. That’s amazing,” she said.
Moreover, Mr. Willis found Shen Yun’s depiction of spirituality and divinity inspiring.
“It inspires you to know that there’s something greater than all of us just here… We’re all connected—red, yellow, black, and white—because of that divine being. That’s beautiful. You can feel the inspiration. It’s palpable,” he said.
German Attendees: “True Art”
After the performance, a number of audience members gave a standing ovation and the performers took three bows. The company presented four performances in Leipzig March 8–10. Tickets were sold out two months prior.
Heike Hansen von Hardenberg, a relic restorer and art teacher who is a member of a noble family, and Jens Bartram, owner of a consulting company, saw Shen Yun in Leipzig on March 9.
“Everything about Shen Yun is art, true art. Not only the dancing is art, the costumes are art; the backdrop is art; and the whole combination is art! It opened up my heart,” said Ms. Hardenberg.
Regarding Shen Yun’s mission of reviving traditional values, she said, “These values are actually already lost now. But if people come to see Shen Yun, maybe we will enter a new era, one where people can care more about other people.”
Audiences in Spain: “Order, Discipline, and Perfection”
The company presented three performances on March 9 and 10 and will be performing two more on March 16 and 17. This was the company’s first time to perform in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a town in the Community of Madrid. Tickets for the originally scheduled performances were sold out by December of last year. The local presenter then added more performances as well as seats with partially obstructed views, and tickets again sold out quickly.
Beibei Wu, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, saw Shen Yun in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on March 10. “I like it very much. Very excited. I also feel proud to be Chinese,” said Ms. Wu.
She brought her daughter, who was born in Spain, to see the performance. “I hoped that she could see this performance. This is a spectacle of my country’s traditions,” she said.
Musician Javier Beleña Martín saw Shen Yun in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on March 10.
The performance was “spectacular” according to Mr. Beleña. “As the name itself indicates, [it is] something out of the ordinary,” he said. Mr. Beleña highlighted “the order, discipline, and perfection in the execution of all the acts they do.”
He also highlighted the performance by the tenor, the pianist, and the erhu soloist: “The tenor is very good. I also liked the pianist. And as an exceptional thing, the erhu. An exceptional thing and a little-known instrument.”
Mr. Beleña said of the erhu solo, “You close your eyes and it transports you a little to ancient China. It makes you [part] of such an ancient culture. A good feeling as music for meditation and to relax the body and mind.”
Sydney: “A Wonderful Service You’re Doing for the Global Community”
Mark Latham MLC, a member of the New South Wales Parliament’s upper house, and Nathalie Matthews saw Shen Yun in Sydney on March 8.
“It’s a fantastic performance. Colorful, and skillful, the acrobatics, the whole presentation has been wonderful. And it’s good to see the revival of classical Chinese dance—that is not lost forever—and it’s alive and well here at the Capitol Theatre,” Mr. Latham said.
“It’s amazing to see how they move from real life to the animation, back from the animation to real life. That’s a wonderful skill in itself, so the audience sort of gasps with admiration when that happens,” he said.
“The fact that [Shen Yun is performing] here in Sydney—it’s not in Shanghai, not in Beijing, it’s not in any part of China—that’s a sad reflection on a regime that’s lost part of the wonderful classical culture of their own people,” he said, adding that he was pleased to see that the oppression of communism has not destroyed classical Chinese dance.
“It’s a wonderful service you’re doing for the global community, so I hope you keep it up,” Mr. Latham said. “It’s an honor, it’s a privilege to be here in Sydney enjoying it.”
Peter Kim, a doctor and former deputy mayor of the City of Ryde, saw Shen Yun in Sydney on March 10.
“It’s so divine. I saw angels dancing in front of my eyes, and that was just an amazing experience,” Mr. Kim said. “It’s a combination of mystical and magical, and just absolutely fantastic. It was the most beautiful display of color I’ve ever seen… And it was [as if] I was sitting there watching an aurora and the North Star, and it was absolutely beautiful.”
Mr. Kim took note of messages that he thought Shen Yun gave to society: “Live with principles, go back to the original values, and try to be good,” he said.
Pennsylvania Elected Officials Welcome Shen Yun
This year, Shen Yun is scheduled to present ten performances at the Miller Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 9–17. On March 9 and 10, Shen Yun International Company presented three performances at the Miller Theater, all to full houses.
Governor Josh Shapiro; Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker; State Senators Anthony H. Williams and Amanda M. Cappelletti; State Representatives MaryLouise Isaacson, Regina G. Young, Napoleon J. Nelson, and Greg Scott; Delaware State Representatives Michael Ramone and Lyndon D. Yearick; and the Philadelphia City Council sent letters and issued citations.
Councilwoman Cindy Bass said after the performance, “I love the show… I love the choreography and the beautiful colors. Everything was just so bright and vibrant, and that really does something to your soul.”
Mayor of Claremont, California: “It Was Fantastic”
He presented the performing arts company with a welcome letter from the city. “It was fantastic. It’s very different from any theater production I’ve seen. I just enjoyed the pageantry, the color, the movement—it was exciting,” Mayor Sal Medina of Claremont said.
“I think, right now, traditional values are something that many people are searching for—to find and to reconnect with them… For me personally, it’s something that I’m searching for and dealing with. I think being able to have a story like this [from] different ethnic groups, allows us to connect with each other a little bit more,” he said.
For him, Shen Yun’s message is about human connections and that “we’re not alone in this world. “There is a connectivity between our cultures wherever we may be, whether it’s here or abroad or in another part of the world. [It’s something] that we can’t deny. I believe the performance is teaching us that this connectivity exists and is alive,” the mayor elaborated.
“I think those people, that are coming here, they will be touched by the performance and by the message that’s coming across. Hopefully, when we leave here, we leave better because of it. We’ll take this message and, little by little, live it in our daily lives. It’s fantastic,” he said.
For more information about performance times, locations, and tickets, please visit www.shenyun.com.
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