NANTES, France—Patrick Lifschutz, a retired magistrate, was delighted with his birthday gift—the opportunity to experience Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Cité des Congrès in Nantes on the afternoon of Feb. 19.
“I loved the enchantment of the colors, I loved the stories, I was touched by the grace of these dances and this music,” Mr. Lifschutz said. Now retired, he had served as a magistrate in several French cities during his career, notably as president of the Lyon correctional court. He attended the performance with Isabelle
“I had strong emotional feelings watching the whole thing,” he said. “It’s very touching.”
Ms. Outin said she enjoyed the feeling the performance evoked.
“It’s both graceful... a lot of grace and strength at the same time,” she reflects. “These colors, the way the dancers move on stage, I think it’s really very pretty.”
Mr. Lifschutz and Ms. Outin found many unique aspects in the performance.
Ms. Outin particularly appreciated the soprano’s “marvelous singing” and the “musical interlude” which the singing provided to the classical Chinese dance performance.
“It’s a really nice touch. A good idea in the show,” she said.
Mr. Lifschutz greatly enjoyed the digital projection of the animated backdrop, an original invention patented by Shen Yun.
“I also found very interesting these images and these people who go into the images and come out of it. It’s a magnificent find, it’s true and it’s very well done,” he said.
Speaking of the stories told on stage by the classical Chinese dance company, Ms. Outin felt as if she were returning to fairytale worlds such as the land of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. “It’s a bit of a throwback to our childhood, so it’s nice, it’s really good.”
Mr. Lifschutz shared his own experience. “We’re going back to our roots, which aren’t our own,” he said. “But they are universal.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to bring 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life on stage, a rich heritage of this divinely inspired culture destroyed by decades of communist rule.
“It seems essential to me,” Mr. Lifschutz said. “We live with our origins after all. We’re the descendants of those who came before us. So for me, it’s very important. I don’t think we can grow unless we know where we come from.
Ms. Outin agreed. “You can’t forget your roots,” she said.
The connection with the divine also moved Mr. Lifschutz. He said he is religious, “so obviously it touches me, everything divine touches me to the core of my soul.”
“Bravo!” Mr. Lifschutz said.
At the same performance, Bernard Boutinot felt a sense of “well-being, quite simply, serenity and a lot of pleasure.”
Mr. Boutinot is a former banking executive, he set up a private support and consulting firm after retirement.
“I thought it was absolutely superb,” said Mr Boutinot, who has seen Shen Yun in the past. “This isn’t the first year we’ve come to see them.”
“Family ties, respect for traditions, respect for elders ... I may be more sensitive than I was in my 20s. But it’s still an important thing,” Mr. Boutinot said.
For the retired banking executive, the Shen Yun show can bring two things to society. Firstly, “serenity, well-being, relaxation, pleasure”. Secondly, it can “ raise a number of questions for some people”.
“It’s true that today, with the lives we lead, there’s no time for reflection. Maybe, at some point, [Shen Yun] could help to rekindle some ties,” Mr. Boutinot said.
