TOULON, France—Another stop on Shen Yun Performing Arts’ world tour took place at Toulon’s Zénith. The world premier classical Chinese dance company presented six performances there in early April, the last of which took place on Sunday, April 6 in front of a packed house. Shen Yun will then perform for the very first time in Amnéville from April 9 to 13.
Ever since she was a little girl, Émilie Durr has been fascinated by Chinese culture. So it was only natural that this manager in the naval industry came to see Shen Yun this Sunday, April 6 at the Zénith in Toulon, accompanied by Florian Allègre, an insurance expert.
“I find the level very high, really excellent and perfect, very close to perfection. And that’s what also reflects what we know about Chinese culture in general,” said an enthusiastic Mrs. Durr at the intermission of the performance. “The color brings a lot of positivity to the costumes.”
“I really wanted to come and see this show, very colorful with Chinese culture. I’m really enjoying it,” Mr. Allègre said. “All the artists are very smiling and it’s very pleasant to watch.”
Both felt different emotions during the performance of Shen Yun, the New York-based company whose mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
“There’s a lot of emotion, even chills at times,” Mr. Allègre said. “It’s really fantastic.
“There’s also a lovely energy that flows throughout the show, between calm and more dynamic, lively moments,” Mrs. Durr said. ”That’s what I actually felt the most in terms of emotion.”
She said she also noticed the connection with the heavens during the performance.
“I myself practice meditation in my daily life. As a result, I could easily connect with the divine art represented in the Shen Yun show. I feel very connected precisely in a state of well-being and harmonious connection with Chinese culture,” she said.
For his part, Mr. Allègre also appreciated the spiritual aspect of the performance.
“You can feel this somewhat spiritual side, and that feels good,” he said. He also noticed the values of kindness and benevolence.
“You can feel the well-being, the thoughtfulness towards your fellow man ... then a lot of respect. That’s part of Chinese culture too. And we’re pretty much in tune with those values,” he said.
The two felt these values and traditions that Shen Yun reminds us of important in our modern world.
“These values are welcome in today’s world and the situation we’re in today, which isn’t easy at the moment,” Mrs. Durr said. ”And it also brings back certain values that, perhaps, have been lost with our modern societies and technological and digital developments.”
“I think it brings a lot of serenity and happiness, something that’s very much lacking in today’s cruel world,” Mr. Allègre added.
Alain Bieg, a former school principal, said Shen Yun had just been “fantastic.”
“The costumes are magnificent, the dancers are wonderful. I’ve rarely seen such an interesting show,” Mr. Bieg said.
“The feeling? I was stunned! I didn’t think it would be at that level at all. I thought it would be a nice show. But here, at this level, I’m blown away,” he adds. “It’s a very, very, very high level.
“I’m also talking about the instrumentalist with his two-stringed instrument, which is really terrific.” Mr. Bieg refers to the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-string instrument dating back over 4,000 years, similar to a viol in that it is bowed, and capable of conveying a wide range of emotions.
“What I noticed too, what’s great, are your special effects, the special effects where you see the performers taking off into the sky,” Mr. Bieg noted of the digital projection with which the dancers interact. “Hats off to your engineers for that!”
