(Minghui.org) The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts continued touring Europe and North America with performances in the United States and Denmark during the first week of April around Easter time.
Shen Yun New York Company performed to a full house at the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York City on the afternoon of April 8 – the 12th performance of the 18-show run from March 25–April 12.
Shen Yun World Company made its debut in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Royal Arena on the evening of March 30.
Shen Yun Touring Company performed at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington, on the afternoon of April 4.
Shen Yun New World Company performed at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois, on the afternoon of April 4.
Shen Yun North America Company presented its opening performance at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on the evening of April 3.
“It’s Going to Move You”
Maximiliano Guerra and Myriam Barroso (Screenshot courtesy of NTD)
Acclaimed ballet dancers Maximiliano Guerra and Myriam Barroso saw Shen Yun in Seattle on April 5.
“It was great,” Mr. Guerra said. “It was great because we could come, we could enjoy the show. We could see what it’s all about.”
“We could see how these people work, their training, and their ideas, how they can tell the story right from the beginning—from the ancient China to today. The last number, they came with the cellular phones, and it is fantastic. For me, it was always important in my career to know where I come from and to know where I go to.”
For him, it’s impossible to pick a favorite piece from the performance because “they’re all very, very pretty, very interesting, and very different from one another.”
Ms. Barroso also had a wonderful time. A dancer herself, she paid extra attention to the performers’ technique and especially enjoyed the women’s Mongolian ethnic dance.
“It is special because it’s very, very expressive [and] very, very nice with the movements,” she shared. “This piece has a lot of movements difficult for the dancer. It’s very nice, very nice.”
Reflecting on Shen Yun’s mission of bringing back traditional Chinese culture, Mr. Guerra said it is fundamental to humanity’s well-being.
“When you talk about whatever you do in life—you need to have culture,” he said. “We need to know what was [before] us... to live today, how we live, and to know what we want to do, and what we want to change, and what we want to keep for tomorrow.”
Ms. Barroso enjoyed that Shen Yun conveys messages of kindness, generosity, and love through its story-based dances.
“When the people have a possibility to give love—it’s very important,” she said.
Given a chance to speak with Shen Yun’s performers, Mr. Guerra would like to congratulate them “because of their resistance [against the Chinese Communist Party] and their stamina and the way they perform physically.”
“The intention that they have all the time on stage—that’s a great thing that they have. I would like to work with them.”
Ms. Barroso chimed in that she would like to commend not just the dancers, but Shen Yun’s entire cast and crew, because the success of the performance depends on the flawless integration of the different arts.
“The singer, the pianist, the [two-stringed erhu solo,] and the orchestra is very good,” she said.
When asked how they would describe Shen Yun to others who haven’t yet seen the performance, Mr. Guerra said, “I’m an artist, [Ms. Barroso] is an artist, usually we don’t describe shows. We’ll just say: ‘Go and see what happens to you, because it’s going to move you. It’s going to transform you. It’s going to make you come out of the theater different than when you came in.’”
“The Music Very Much Tells the Story”
Zabrina Smith (Screenshot courtesy of NTD)
Zabrina Smith, violin instructor, saw Shen Yun in Colorado Springs on April 5.
“The orchestra is astounding. I love it. They are so precise,” she said.
“The dedication to the craft is very obvious. And you can tell they have worked very hard.
“The music very much tells the story,” Ms. Smith said. “Even if you didn’t have the lyrics or the dance, the music itself tells the story. It is so incredible to bring the two together, so you have the visual as well as the audio. And it’s wonderful.”
“Everybody Should Go See This”
Jon Ryan Neace (Screenshot courtesy of NTD)
Jon Ryan Neace, a businessman, saw Shen Yun in New York City on April 4.
“I thought it was amazing. I thought from the costumes, to the choreography, to the music, it was just absolutely amazing. I think everybody should go see this,” he said.
“I think what’s happening in China right now is awful. And I think more people need to see this and things like this to understand the roots of where the Chinese people are from.
“All history should be celebrated. Even if what’s happening doesn’t necessarily mesh with what happened, I think we should still be able to see and people should understand the history, the culture, the tradition of the Chinese people.
“Keep up the good work. You’re doing amazing things. You’re getting your message out to the people, and I think that’s the best way to do it. Even if you can’t get it to mainland China, you can get it to others who know people over there, and maybe you can make a difference through the artistic expression,” he said.
“Absolutely Fantastic, Sublime”
Kenneth Kristensen Berth (Screenshot courtesy of NTD)
Local politician Kenneth Kristensen Berth saw Shen Yun in Copenhagen on April 2.
“It’s a fantastic performance—all these beautiful pastel colors and the way you interact with the space and the screen behind. It’s made in an absolutely fantastic, sublime way. Fantastic show,” Mr. Berth said.
The media reported that the Chinese embassy in Denmark threatened the theater not to allow Shen Yun’s performance, but the theater ignored the threat. This delighted Mr. Berth, who was in the Danish parliament for four years.
“I’m actually a bit pleased. It seems as if we are yielding a bit less to the People’s Republic of China than we did just 10 or 15 years ago,” he said.
“I remember, when I was very involved in politics, there were great ambitions to create collaborations with Chinese universities. We warned against that in my party, the Danish People’s Party, and at that time, it was totally ignored.
“But today, there is just a much greater awareness of the oppression that the Chinese regime not only carries out internally in China, but also the way they try to make other countries fall into line.
“There’s only one thing to say to that: We have to resist, because we should not subject ourselves to the wishes and demands of other regimes,” he said.
Mr. Berth now serves in local politics while also serving as head of the secretariat and personnel for the Danish People’s Party.
He said he understood that traditional Chinese culture before communism directly contradicts the policies of the present communist regime.
“I think it’s very important to bring traditional Chinese culture to a wider circle, because the impression one has of China today is an impression that the People’s Republic of China has more or less defined,” Mr. Berth said.
He expressed his firm support for Shen Yun’s message. “It’s really wonderful to see that there is an alternative to this—a life-affirming alternative. I think that’s also why it’s really wonderful to see a performance like the one we are witnessing today. I think that’s important to do.”
“One of the things that is fantastic in the world is all the different cultures we have. We should hold on to them, so that everything doesn’t become some kind of hodgepodge and everything becomes the same.
“I think it’s important that we also hold on to our own Danish culture, just as the Chinese people should hold on to their Chinese culture also, in the special situation they find themselves in, and the oppression that we are witnessing,” he said.
“It’s wonderful that they stand firm and show us the fantastic riches that Chinese culture contains. [They are] doing it under the completely inhuman pressure they are exposed to here. That makes it even more credible,” he said.
“The Beauty of Art”
Jorge Pallo (Screenshot courtesy of NTD)
Jorge Pallo, a television and film actor, saw Shen Yun in New York City on April 5.
“[Shen Yun is] an opportunity to get out of our heads in the normal world that we’re living in right now, where there’s so much going on—so much fear, so much destruction. To see something beautiful on stage—that’s what we should all aspire to—the beauty of art,” Mr. Pallo said.
“It seemed there were a lot of heroes involved. I love the story of heroes overcoming injustice,” he said.
“All theater is meant to hold up a mirror to life. And if it gets censored, then there will be a problem,” Mr. Pallo said of Shen Yun’s inability to perform in China.
Seeing Shen Yun on Easter, Mr. Pallo was reminded of the courage it takes to protect what you believe.
“I think faith takes a tremendous amount of courage... Courage is also having fear but doing it anyway and expressing yourself in a magical and artistic way, as we are meant to be,” he said.
Under the communist regime in China, this expression is smothered. Mr. Pallo said he believes that this type of egalitarian ideology kills creativity.
“If everybody is the same, and if everybody is uniform, then where does the creation go? Where does creativity go? And then we all just become robots listening to the government,” he said.
“I really love how the performers were able to incorporate working with the screen and be able to show a whole new world at the same time. It was very seamless,” Mr. Pallo said.
“It Makes You Want to Enjoy the Joy of Life”
Thomas Weck (Screenshot courtesy of The Epoch Times)
Company owner and author Thomas Weck saw Shen Yun for the fifth consecutive year on April 2 in New York City.
He loved that Shen Yun is a “spiritual experience.” It kept him coming back time and again.
“It’s rejuvenating, and the performers are brilliant. I used to be in a pit orchestra for theater, and I played the trumpet. So I have a great affinity for the pit orchestra players,” he said.
“I thought everything was brilliant. The singer [was] magnificent and the pianist was very skillful... Superb. Everything about the performance is better than an A+. It’s rejuvenating, it’s spiritual, and it makes you want to enjoy the joy of life.”
Mr. Weck especially appreciated how the performance promotes traditional values and encourages audience members, “to be a better person.”
“It was a joy to behold—the magnificence of mankind when it is put to good purposes. These performers really express that. I know they study very, very hard because I run a company that deals with balance and core stability,” he said.
“We train Olympic champions... so I can appreciate performance’s athletic and spiritual [elements.] These men and women, they’re spectacular, that’s why I come every year to rejuvenate.”
Mr. Weck also praised the company’s Artistic Director for his ability to present an entirely new program each year.
“It’s not a repeat performance, which makes it even more enjoyable to come each year, because you see a completely new performance,” he shared.
“The choreography, the music, the scenery—the way they change from a person to [animation.] It gets better and better every year. Every year they have more technology that they’re able to bring to bear, and that in and of itself is unbelievable.
“On a scale from 1 to 100, it’s 100,” he said.
“Healing Power”
Maritza Ramirez (Screenshot courtesy of The Epoch Times)
Maritza Ramirez, a preschool teacher, saw Shen Yun in Aurora on April 4.
“This performance uplifted me and gave me hope and faith,” she said.
“They brought this energy to the audience and brought a kind of healing power–it was like they were healing the audience, making them at peace, and taking away the stress and negative feelings they came with,” Ms. Ramirez said.
To learn more about Shen Yun or to purchase tickets, please visit: https://shenyun.com/
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