AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France—University professors Colette and Denis Collomp attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ final performance at the Grand Théâtre de Provence on Jan. 7, and discovered a world they described as very nearly magical.

He is a former university professor and lecturer in the history of the medieval language. She is a professor of Italian at the University of Aix, specializing in the Middle Ages.

The enthusiastic Mrs. Collomp had this to say about Shen Yun: “I thought the show was really great, because it managed to marry modernity and tradition.”

“It’s an extremely difficult task to convey the value of tradition, especially to younger generations. In this case, thanks to these songs, these absolutely marvelous dances and a very modern staging, it’s possible to get the message across, in the best possible way,” she said.

Mr. Collomp said Shen Yun was completely original, and performed scenes spanning several millennia.

“It’s interesting and at the same time very lively thanks in particular to the presentation of the [emcees], and multilingual, too. It’s very good!” he said.

The historian said he is “a musician at heart”, practicing, among other things, baroque singing. So he was particularly impressed by the bel canto singing.

“Very good performance, excellent! A fine bass baritone, because he’s presented as a baritone, but he’s got big, generous lows. Very good. The soprano also has a very powerful voice,” he said.

For Mrs. Collomp, “the performance of the artists is fantastic.”

“I’m particularly sensitive to dance because I’ve done a lot of gymnastics and I see how difficult art is, especially harmonization. The choreography is absolutely superb, with costumes that further enhance the choreography,“ she said. ”It’s a real moment of magic. It’s very, very beautiful in every way.”

Shen Yun means “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” the name referencing a spirituality present throughout the 5,000 years of culture and history of ancient China.

“It’s difficult to address all religions. But this is subtle enough to address universal values. It’s a beautiful message of peace, a beautiful message of connection between religions and spirituality. It’s also very, very successful!” Mrs. Collomp said.

“Congratulations to the whole team, to all those who were able to put this together, all those behind the scenes who we don’t often see and who make this type of show possible,” she said.