MONTPELLIER, France—For its penultimate performance at the Opéra Berlioz du Corum, on March 29, Shen Yun Performing Arts moved the audience.
“It was breathtaking!” said Constantin Matei, a vascular surgeon. “It was a real eye-opener, almost bringing tears to our eyes!”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, its mission to present 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, inspired by the divine. In fact, in ancient times, China was known as the “Land of the Divine.”
Mr. Matei said he “adores Chinese culture,” and felt “palpitations” during the performance.
“I think we’re talking about the same deity, I think. That’s what I saw. It really touched me,” he said.
“We felt like we were in the heavens,” Mr. Matei said. “In the auditorium, we were really on the same level as the stage, and we were transcended. We didn’t know whether it was real or heavenly. Really, it’s a magnificent show.”
Mr. Matei said he felt “very light, very light. Even a little psychedelic. It was a mix of colors that I still have in my eyes, in my soul, in my mind too.”
“The different scenes we saw in the show, it touched the deepest part of the soul. What was also very, very interesting was the repression. I know that in China right now there are freedoms that are oppressed,” he added.
Mr. Matei was touched by these scenes. “You could also feel this repression of belief, if you like, and of the soul too.”
Shen Yun is “a return to spirituality, because we live in a very materialistic world, and I think we forget how much spirituality there is in the world,” he said. It’s “a return to our roots, a return to the Creator.”
Entrepreneur Bernard Nguyen Van discovered in Shen Yun a performance of “truly extraordinary quality.”
“Artistically speaking, the costumes are quite extraordinary; they’re well designed. The movements, you can see that they’ve been rehearsed, that there’s a structure ... Frankly, it’s really very good,” he said.
Mr. Nguyen Van said he felt “a sense of freshness. As if people were happy to be alive, as if they were trying to communicate something.”
“I think it’s important to connect. It’s important to sort out everything you haven’t been able to do in your life. So, I’m fully touched by this kind of thing,” he said.
“I feel transformed and I hope it will continue,” he added.
Saying he is of Vietnamese origin, Mr. Nguyen Van believes that “China is a country with a wealth of ancestral knowledge, and it’s important for us Westerners to take a look at it. It will teach us a lot. We all hope that China and the West will really merge to bring great things to humanity.”
“We’re honored that France is able to accept countries like this so that, in the end, they can express themselves,” he said.
Christina Ong, payroll manager, and Bruno Gourvès, osteopath, had a profound experience at Shen Yun.
“It’s really magical for me,” Ms. Ong said.
“It’s like living the Chinese myth. It’s like connecting to my roots. It’s like coming back to the source, home!”
For Mr. Gourvès, Shen Yun is “a powerful message in terms of spirituality, in terms of a living, current spirituality, which is really highlighted and which touches everyone, I think, in the auditorium. It’s really very, very powerful.”
“This connection with the divine is the only thing that can touch the heart,” Mr. Gourvès said.
“This divine part in us is very well shown in the show. The whole thing unfolds. There’s a finale that’s absolutely terrific, and it really shows everything that’s behind Shen Yun, everything that Shen Yun encompasses, and the message that Shen Yun wants to dispense for humanity, for the whole world. It’s great!”
Ms. Ong agreed, saying it was “ a very beautiful and rich experience.”
“It’s really very touching, but in terms of beauty, I don’t know how to explain it, there are no words. I’m amazed. That’s it, amazed by what they represent,” she said.
Mr. Gourvès said he is on his own spiritual path, and Shen Yun revealed many things to him.
He said he felt “this invisible presence that’s there ... this energy that’s present too, and that becomes very touching at the end, really.”
“There’s an envoy, so to speak, and behind him, there’s a whole host of souls who also come for this liberation and who are linked to this soul envoy, to this divine soul who is sent. And so, automatically, this creates an elevation, a resurrection of all these souls who are linked to this incarnating divinity,” Mr. Gourvès said.
The osteopath believes that Shen Yun can “bring about a better world and an elevation of humanity in its energy, in its consciousness. It really fits in with the evolution of humanity, completely. And in the current period, it’s very timely.”
