After three years, Shen Yun performing arts returned to Australia’s Gold Coast, performing at the Home of the Arts from May 6 to May 8.
Audience members said they were impressed by the quality of the performance.
“The way that they’ve brought in, integrated ancient tradition through technology into the dance where they’ve taken the heavens and blended it to the earth, is noteworthy,” said Scott Buchholz, Federal Member of Parliament and Queensland’s assistant minister for road safety and freight transport.
Mr. Buchholz, who watched the performance with his wife on the Gold Coast on May 6, said he felt privileged watching New York-based Shen Yun, which is presenting “China before communism” as it continued its tour Down Under.
“The color, the beauty, the spectacular vision … [it’s] nothing short of breathtaking,” Mr. Buchholz said. “I’d encourage all those in Australia to take the opportunity to come and see a magnificent performance.”
Christopher Klopper, Dean of the Australian College of Applied Professions, said seeing Shen Yun was “a great opportunity and exposure to music and dance of another culture.”
“Often in Western culture, music is one thing, dance is another, but in some of our traditional cultures music and dance just cannot be separated and what we see in Shen Yun is exactly that, you can’t have one without the other,” Mr. Klopper said on May 7.
For 5,000 years, the ancient Chinese people believed that music, medicine, calligraphy, language, and much more were brought down from the heavens.
Gabriël Moens, emeritus professor of law at the University of Queensland, and Member of the Order of Australia (AM), said the company’s mission—which is to revive the traditions and wisdom from China’s 5,000-year-old civilization—told a great deal of the history of China, particularly before communism.
“Obviously the performers don’t talk to the public but they talk to the public in a special way by movement, by gestures, by enthusing people, and by making them aware of the culture that existed prior to communism,” Mr. Moens said on May 8.
“What this performance is about is about the revitalization of Chinese culture as it was and as it should be today.”
One particular piece that stood out to audience members was the contemporary performance showing people in China being persecuted for their faith—particularly to Falun Dafa practitioners in China. Falun Dafa is an ancient spiritual practice that is based on the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
“I think much of the idea behind it is that you should stay true to your traditions and to the heavens basically, so stick to your religion, stick to your beliefs, and don’t let the corrupt forces take over if you know what I mean,” said Steen Kirkby, owner of Steen Kirkby Consulting Services after watching Shen Yun on the Gold Coast on May 7.
Mr. Moens added: “It was about spirituality, about the history of China, about great ideas that came out of China and I think eventually people will benefit from coming to these performances.”
NTD News, Gold Coast, Queensland
