“It’s poetry!” he said enthusiastically. “The performances are just incredible. The dancers are outstanding and the story is just incredible!”

The artistic level of the dancers was, he said “at the top of what’s been done. There are jumps which require both the flexibility of the movements, and then the athletic performances that are amazing.”

“The harmony is conveyed by the ease of movement, by the athletic performance and then by the softness and grace.”

“They told us, ‘You’ll see, it’s fabulous, and it’s really fabulous!'”

Mr. Frenehard was overwhelmed by “emotion, and then also a lot of mixed feelings between what’s going on in China right now, what Shen Yun Company is demonstrating, what they hope for. It stirs up a lot of internal feelings!”

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

As a believer himself, Mr. Frenehard experienced “a very strong feeling ... a feeling that faith corresponds to something, a hope! It gives a much needed hope, especially because of what is happening right now and not far from us.”

Lucas Etienne is a railway engineer; he was accompanied by Clothilde Gendreau, a law student.

The engineer found “the show very, very interesting”, with “a very exceptional artistic level! We saw a lot of things, a lot of acrobatics, great technique, great jumps, and it’s truly very impressive to see!”

These spectators were all able to experience a special feeling.

“I believe in God,” said Ms. Gendreau. “So I was immediately hooked and I really felt the divine in it. I’m even going to buy some books to learn more about it.