Shen Yun Performing Arts staged its first performance in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 28—taking to the stage for a fully packed theater. The city is the most important financial hub in continental Europe, and will host the arts company for five performances altogether.
Dirk Bamberger, a member of the Hessian State parliament, saw the show last Wednesday. He said: “I found the performance very, very interesting, very touching. And it brings the culture, the Chinese culture, this very rich culture, really very close. And you could really experience it. And the staging is wonderful and very successful. Really, this step between the classical and the folklore to the modern is very, very impressive.”
Michelle Maric, a Latin American Dance Regional Champion, said: “I found it totally breathtaking because everything just looked so easy. So, as a dancer, you know how difficult it all is. And then you look at the stage and it all looks so totally easy. And as if there hadn’t been any effort at all. So really, very fascinating.”
Linda Heinz, a company owner, said the show was, “fantastic, really fantastic. At times you get goosebumps. A few tears were also shed. Again and again, really, it’s the third time I’ve been here. I don’t go to any other concerts. I come only here [to Shen Yun].”
Wolfgang Heinz, a company owner, said: “I’m a very impulsive, hectic person. I’ve never seen myself so calm in an event. My thoughts—empty and clear, just enjoying the beautiful colors, the scenery, the message. With what my wife said, there’s nothing more to add. Thank you, thank you very much for this performance.”
Nathalie Krause, a representative for the German Youth Economic Council, said: “I think the play does a very good job of creating this discord between basic democratic values, between a political message and the beauty of culture and the colorfulness of culture. And I believe that’s exactly what should be expressed. I think [Shen Yun] is exactly that and it’s very well done.”
Mr. Bamberger added: “The artistic level of presentation is fascinating. It’s a highly professional theater in world-class format and that inspires me. It really takes you away and you’re right in the middle of it and fully involved.”
Every year, Shen Yun travels the world with a mission: to revive the five millennia of traditional Chinese culture. That history was almost destroyed by communism, after it took power in China in 1949.
Mr. Bamberger commented: “I think, to experience the traditional culture of China nowadays is only possible in very few places in the world. In China—not at all. And that’s why Shen Yun’s work is very, very important, to bring Chinese culture to the world and to inspire enthusiasm for it and also to show that a culture is being suppressed, that a culture cannot take place because of political reasons, and that this can only happen where there is no communist regime in power. That is an important signal and It’s also an enrichment for the world, that this culture is being transported.”
Miss Krause said: “I think, for young and old, for every generation, it’s beautiful for everyone to see it. There are these very small things about the family that every child can understand, and of course the political things, the freedom of expression, that should be expressed. That is important for young people, but also for old people. And I think that’s what is so special about [Shen Yun].”
Mrs. Heinz added: “We are lucky now, that we were allowed to experience this message, were allowed to live by it, were allowed to cultivate ourselves further, others may not. I am deeply grateful that I was able to experience this message and that I can pass it on.”
Shen Yun also depicts stories from modern China, where human rights including freedom of belief and freedom of expression are suppressed. Millions of people have been persecuted because of their faith. The largest and one of the most brutally persecuted groups is called Falun Dafa. The meditation practice features five sets of exercises and moral teachings, based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
Mr. Bamberger said he was “particularly touched by the story of Falun Dafa and the fate of this family and this young woman. And I was very, very impressed by this whole production, which really could also get very close to you.” He added: “it’s important that the democratic societies of the world and the humane societies of the world also work together on it and stand up for it. That persecution anywhere in the world, for whatever reason, that persecution should not be happening in the 21st century. Society should not accept that.”
Mr. Heinz said she hopes “this terrible persecution ends. That would be wonderful when this terrible persecution of Falun Dafa in China finally comes to an end. So let’s hope for the good and fight for the good.”
Ms. Maric said this was her first Shen Yun show that she saw, “and I don’t think it will be the last. I definitely think so, because it also gave us an insight into it, what that even looks like. And they also said themselves, that the show was not allowed to be performed in China itself. And that’s why I think it’s great that we, in the rest of the world, can still see it.”
Ms. Krause said: “I believe there are still a few more performances and I can absolutely recommend it. Go and see it.
Shen Yun will perform in Frankfurt through March 2. The New York-based performance company will then head to Leipzig.
NTD News, Frankfurt, Germany
