Shen Yun ‘A Message of Hope for the Modern Man’ in Poland
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Shen Yun Performing Arts Global Company took to the stage at the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Poland on the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2023. Zhang Qingyan/The Epoch Times
BYDGOSZCZ, Poland—On the afternoon and evening of Feb. 28, Shen Yun Performing Arts Global Company staged its second and third performances at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz. The performance attracted lovers of the arts from all over Poland. Tickets were sold out. The artists of New York-based Shen Yun once again touched the most sensitive strings of the audience’s soul.
Shen Yun, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” The dance company on Feb. 28 magnetized audiences and guidd them through the diverse places of ancient China, where culture was inextricably linked with the divine.
The primary goal of the Shen Yun artists is to restore the priceless heritage of Chinese culture, which the Chinese Communist Party has been trying to eradicate completely since it took power in 1949.
During the afternoon’s performance intermission, Robert Kurowski from Bydgoszcz, who is a doctor by profession and privately “a lover of opera music, classical music, and ballet too,” shared his impressions.
“I must say that I have very good impressions ... I’m a bit interested in Chinese culture, I even tried to learn Chinese once, the basics, although I backed off because it’s such a difficult language,” said Mr. Kurowski.
He said the Shen Yun performance is “a very interesting display of the entire Chinese culture—from religion, to spirituality, and up to dance technique. The choreography is amazing and also the combination of [certain] effects with dance and music—like the new visual methods such as the 3-D [backdrop]. It makes an incredible impression; I haven’t seen such combination before.”
“The dance itself is really world-class. There’s no doubt about it, is the absolute top-of-the-line,” he said.
Since ancient times, the Chinese have believed that their culture was bestowed by the heavens. The communist regime sees any manifestation of the divine element as a threat to the its existence.
“The most heart-wrenching scene is the one in modern communist China, where they kidnap people who want to adhere to traditional [values], and a person has been killed to obtain her organs. It’s something so horrible! But [the story was] beautifully portrayed, especially the ending—that [showed] that this spirituality, this goodness, comes back, and that someday ... this Chinese regime will fall. It seems to me that this is the wish of all Chinese people. [It’s a desire] of all those who think more openly, and who are not ... oppressed in terms of belief,” said Mr. Kurowski.
Mr. Kurowski said that universal, timeless values, such as goodness and beauty, can be found in any cultural space, we just have to open up to them.
The evening of Feb. 28, 2023, Robert Kurowski watched the performance of Shen Yun at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Poland. NTD
In Shen Yun’s orchestra, Western classical instruments create a background for ancient Chinese instruments—the Chinese lute pipa and the phenomenal two-stringed erhu–which lead the melody.
“The music is very interesting, because in general Chinese music is difficult for Europeans to listen to, but because this group is from New York ... [the music] is more aligned with the Western culture. The music is very pleasant—it’s very pleasant to listen to. But at all times you can hear elements of Chinese music. It is a combination of elements of Chinese music with music ... that Europeans listen to. It is very pleasant to listen to,” Mr. Kurowski said.
‘Vastness of Expression’
Also in the performance were the Wiwatowskis, who were deeply touched by what they saw the artists express.
“The performance is a demonstration of the spiritual side of man. First of all, I see a prayer here, and for me personally, as a Christian, this shows that God is hidden in all cultures, but cannot be embraced by any culture in its entirety ... through what we humans can present [or] create. He is the Creator who gives us life and who can save our lives. That seems to me to be the message of this piece. The color, the movement, the story—for me they made a whole,” said Mrs. Jadwiga Wiwatowska, a retired English teacher.
“For me, this is the first encounter with Chinese culture. I am enchanted by the vastness of expression. There is, as my wife said, a great deal of spirituality. There is a color scheme that speaks extremely deeply to you. The dance, which was performed perfectly by the artists, evoked emotion to the point of being moved to tears,” said Mr. Andrzej Wiwatowski, a former probation officer.
According to Mrs. Wiwatowski, in the performance, “the word ‘truth’ was shown in the strongest way.”
“And when one reaches the truth, then a person ceases to be afraid, is patient and friendly, does not seek [to validate] himself, does not want to fight with anyone, because he knows where he is coming from and where he is going, because he knows the truth. That, to me, is the strongest part of the moral or ethical message of the show,” she said.
Mr. Wiwatowski also felt the performance delivered such values: “There were many such touches that I ad hoc remembered: truth, mercy, love, hope.”
“I think the very creation of this dance group is a message of hope for this nation, but also a message of hope for the modern man. [The contemporary man] doesn’t necessarily have to be caught up in media of various kinds. I’m thinking here of multimedia, like cell phones, laptops, all sorts of things. Instead [he can focus on] values that give a person freedom. This is a very deep message. Difficult, but possible,” stated Mr. Wiwatowski.
Shen Yun’s storytelling includes dance and music that blends together the sounds of East and West, as well as unique effects in the form of a patented dynamic backdrop, and costumes inspired by the five-millennium tradition.
“I sensed typically Chinese instruments. I wondered what the instrument was. It was showed in the second part [of the show]. In the first part, I thought it was a musical saw, and then it turned out to have two strings–and that’s probably what amazed me the most regarding the fusion of these cultures. Because you could sense a musical saw here, something that we know even in our Polish culture, and all of a sudden it has two strings and [with those artist’s] graceful fingers and a good ear that can sense where and how to play,” said Mrs. Wiwatowski.
Mr. Wiwatowski added, “Chinese culture resounded, but also Western culture, generally speaking. I’m always impressed by orchestras that have a lot of wind instruments. They add such an atmosphere of solemnity, such sublimity. And I think that also these instruments, in addition to those that my wife pointed out, gave the opportunity to experience more deeply those elements of history that were tragic ... and at the right moment they depicted victory. I would see it that way.”
Mrs. Wiwatowski was greatly impressed by the color and music. “I like Chinese films, where there is a lot of color, and each color means something. It’s not something that just could disappear, and it wouldn’t change anything. That’s why I really wanted to see this combination of color, movement, and music. Because this is my first time [seeing this performance].”
“I liked the Tibetan dance—because it reminded us a bit of our highland dance, which is also a fusion of cultures,” Mrs. Wiwatowska noted.
Mr. Wiwatowski concluded, “[I had an] impression of an unfathomable message from centuries ago for today. I, for one, think that according to Shen Yun’s intention, one should wish the Chinese people a sense of truth.”
Reporting by Miranda Tsai and Agnieszka Iwaszkiewicz. Translated by Mikołaj Jaroszewicz.
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