SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

After Shen Yun, One ‘Can Look at the World in a Different Way,’ Says French Patron

Apr 19, 2023

MONTPELLIER, France—From April 16 to 21, Shen Yun is back at the Corum for its new 2023 performance; costumes in shimmering colors and majestic landscapes highlighted story-based dances of courage, benevolence, and loyalty.

Hélène Cairel attended the premiere on Sunday, April 16. For this former sales manager in the pharmaceutical industry, “the dances are beautiful, the choreography is magnificent!”

“I really like the special effects and the costumes, which are very, very interesting,” she said.

“The dancers are very energetic and have a highly developed artistic sense.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Daniel Dardillac is a former shopkeeper. He invited his wife to see Shen Yun for her birthday. He said he was “very happy and amazed,” saying “it is ”truly felt from the heart.”

Daniel Dardillac, retired shopkeeper, invited his wife to see Shen Yun for her birthday. They attended the April 16, 2023 performance at the Corum in Montpellier, France. (NTD) — Daniel Dardillac, retired shopkeeper, invited his wife to see Shen Yun for her birthday. They attended the April 16, 2023 performance at the Corum in Montpellier, France. NTD

Shen Yun “opens us to the Chinese culture, which we Westerners don’t know much about. And it also shows us this combination of dance and spirituality,” said Mr. Dardillac.

For Mr. Dardillac, Shen Yun’s story-based pieces were “speaking, even if there is only music and dances! But we feel they are talking to us, they are sending us a message!”

While discovering Shen Yun, he thought that European and Asian cultures “are nonetheless getting closer because, even if it’s far away, we come back to feel all the emotions that we and our ancestors felt decades ago.”

Shen Yun means “the beauty of divine beings dancing” and Mr. Dardillac felt this connection to the divine: “There is a big resemblance with everything we have here in Europe and in France ... And the cultures, whatever they are. We look up: there is only one God, as they say, who unites everyone. And these days, that’s really something positive!”

Jean-Pascal Schiano de Colella enjoyed Shen Yun at the Corum in Montpellier on April 16, 2023. (NTD) — Jean-Pascal Schiano de Colella enjoyed Shen Yun at the Corum in Montpellier on April 16, 2023. NTD

Jean-Pascal Schiano of Collela came to see the show with his daughter.

He was impressed “by the quality of the show where you really feel the professionalism in everything ... It was really good! It’s a magic resulting from all these techniques presented on the same stage, it is extraordinary!”

This teacher explained having felt a “kind of emotion linked to this treasure, which is this multitude of things that constantly floods you and which certainly transforms you ... In fact, after this show, one is surely different and has acquired other things and can look at the world in a different way!”

For Mr. Schiano, “the divine side really appears in everything and in every form. So, indeed, you obviously feel this divine wealth that fills the dancers and musicians, and even the singers!”

Indeed, Shen Yun means “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” paying homage to the traditional Chinese belief that Chinese culture was inspired by the divine.

The show’s program says, “In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration. They would meditate and seek virtue. They believed that to create art that uplifts, they must first cultivate goodness. Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow this noble tradition. Their source of inspiration is the spiritual discipline known as Falun Dafa. Rooted in traditional Chinese culture, Falun Dafa incorporates meditation exercises and teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Demonstrating remarkable self-discipline and dedication, these artists have moved audiences around the world.”

For this teacher, Shen Yun can be seen as “a kind of thread, a thread where everyone can find themselves, get attached and perhaps share something that binds us.”

“At the end of the day, whether it’s intergenerational or across different countries, different peoples, we have this essence that shows us that we live on the same Earth. And despite the distance, we feel this thread that makes us human, human beings on the same Earth.”

Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaïb.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.