As a center of cultural and artistic life in northeastern Poland, Białystok welcomes Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3 to the stage at Podlaska Opera and Orchestra.

Shen Yun, which means “The beauty of Divine beings dancing, mesmerized audiences in Bydgoszcz, in northern Poland, last year.

Poland has experienced first-hand the suppression of communism. Shen Yun’s mission 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.

“The most heart-wrenching scene,” said Robert Kurowski, “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 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,” he said.

The Bydgoszcz audience also appreciated Shen Yun’s spiritual message. Jadwiga Wiwatowska said, “The performance is a demonstration of the spiritual side of man.

“God is hidden in all cultures. ... He is the Creator who gives us life and who can save our lives. That seems to me to be the message of [Shen Yun]. The color, the movement, the story,” she said. “The word ‘truth’ was shown in the strongest way.”

“When one reaches the truth, then a person ceases to be afraid, is patient and friendly, does not seek [to validate] himself, and does not want to fight with anyone,” she said.

“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.

Andrzej Wiwatowski agreed. He felt the performance delivered the values of truth, mercy, love, and hope.