NANTES, France—Friday, Feb. 15th, in Nantes, as in most parts of France, a pleasant, early spring atmosphere brightened up the end of the week. In this historic capital of Brittany, this feeling has been reinforced by a unique climatic phenomenon: an explosion of colors of the classical Chinese dance performance Shen Yun.

On a world tour of over 130 cities and after its first stopover in Paris in January, the company was eagerly awaited for by the Nantes audience: For nearly 3 months, tickets have been sold out, and it was in a fully packed theater that Shen Yun offered the first of three performances.

Among the spectators, Bruno Le Floc'h, a permanent deacon, very involved in his parish of Saint-Yves-de-la-Côte-Sauvage (Le Pouliguen), shared his impressions after having discovered traditional Chinese culture and noticed its profound spirituality.

“It is not every day that you can see a show of such quality in Brittany,” he said. “I came with my wife and some members of my family and I am very happy with this discovery which is both cultural and spiritual.”

Impressed by the diversity of the stories retracing the path of “the roots that brought Chinese civilization to life” and that have “a tonality that allows you to go to all regions, to all cultures,” Le Floc'h especially noticed a “connection with the divine, which makes me think of a statement by Malraux who said that the 21st century would or would not be spiritual.”

The different scenes of the performance effectively recall the mythological foundations of Chinese civilization, which has always maintained its link with the heavens. This link, presented as torn apart by a modernity caught up in material well-being, “is expressed through a show that reminds us these essential roots,” Le Floc'h said.

“The spiritual life is what our contemporaries lack most,” said the deacon, who appreciated the lightness with which the subject is approached.

“Then, at the same time, we feel that there is something permanent about it that is not only for the man of the past but that is also made for the man of today,” he said.

“The company conveys a message and means something strong. A message of peace, a message of spiritual life, a message also from the hereafter. A hereafter that is essential and unfortunately missing for many of us,” he said.

Aware that the Shen Yun show is performed all over the world but not in China, as the communist regime does not accept the freedom of expression of the show, he said: “It is a courageous position, I imagine that Shen Yun will go [to China], one day it will probably be possible, or at least I hope so.”