SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Expresses ‘Everything That Is Most Important in Life,’ Says Life Coach

Mar 07, 2023

LUBLIN, Poland—On the evening of march 3, the Shen Yun Performing Arts introduced the audience that gathered in large numbers in the Opera Hall of the Center for the Meeting of Cultures to the world of five-millennium-old traditional Chinese culture.

Music, dance conveying feminine grace, ethereal movements, and masculine strength and courage, and 3-D animation in the background provided the participants of this artistic journey a deep and unforgettable experience.

Shen Yun, based in New York, is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, carrying out a mission to revive the traditional Chinese culture that had nearly been destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Ms. Iwona Górna, who is a quantum life coach and an event organizer, found Shen Yun’s performance a powerful experience. She was delighted with the way traditional culture was portrayed.

“We could feel as if we had traveled through all those centuries together with the dancers,” she said.

“Amazing experience. The craftsmanship of the performance, the costumes, which transported us to another world, showed how high the level of the Chinese culture is,” Ms. Górna said.

Ms. Górna said the performance expressed the essence of “everything that is most important in life.”

According to Ms. Górna, “man wants to live happily and realize himself,” and the dancers showed this through the language of dance. According to her, the very strong emotions that accompanied the performance conveyed to her how the Chinese people actually oppose the regime in power.

Shen Yun’s artists draw inspiration from traditional Chinese culture and present its values to the audience. Ms. Górna said that by doing so, they make it possible for audiences to be transported “to another world, to experience incredible sensations.”

She stressed that “there is a divine element in every person,” and therefore people have “incredible power within themselves” to “become known in this world and spread such sublime values, as were shown in the performance.”

All the choreography, the music, the musicians … Really—great respect for all the creators.

— Iwona Górna

“I’m also very impressed with the [physical] condition of the dancers,” she said, adding that it is an incredible feat, and that an incredible amount of work had to be put into preparing the show. “All the choreography, the music, the musicians … Really—great respect for all the creators,” she stressed.

Ms. Górna was moved by the song “To Relay the Creator’s Call” performed by the tenor.

“It was such a very strong, powerful call,” she said, “[It was a call] for a miracle actually, [a call] for help.

From the perspective of an event organizer, she said that “everything was superbly composed. Every detail of the show worked perfectly together and was executed at a very high, world-class level.”

To Shen Yun, she wanted to say, “You guys are amazing. [You showed] great artistry [in the] performance.”

She appreciated the tremendous effort the artists put into preparing the performance and said this will be reflected in their lives. According to her, if the artists feel inside themselves that they are able to move so magnificently on stage, as if they are “floating in the clouds,” then they can achieve “anything in their lives.”

Seeking Roots

Much emotion was evoked by Shen Yun’s performance in Ms. Anna Zwolak-Gniot, who is a doctor by profession. She watched the performance with her colleague Jolanta Chadaj, who is a teacher.

Ms. Anna Zwolak-Gniot (L) and Ms. Jolanta Chadaj watched the second performance of the Shen Yun at the Opera Hall of the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin, Poland, on March 3, 2023. (NTD) — Ms. Anna Zwolak-Gniot (L) and Ms. Jolanta Chadaj watched the second performance of the Shen Yun at the Opera Hall of the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin, Poland, on March 3, 2023. NTD

Ms. Zwolak-Gniot said that although she often watches dance and ballet performances, “this is something completely different”—something that she had never seen before.

“I admire the physical condition and preparation, the incredible technique [of the artists],” Ms. Chadaj added.

Ms. Zwolak-Gniot was it was remarkable that artists outside of China are reviving traditional culture. This was a testament to the great passion in people to “know their roots.” She said that people want to be who they were born to be, and they want to cultivate that, and this was amazing.

She was moved by a story-based dance reflecting modern history. This dance story, based on authentic events taking place in China today, depicted the persecution of practitioners of Falun Dafa, an ancient discipline for perfecting the body and mind.

The Tibetan dance delighted her. It was distinguished by “a completely different technique, but so very interesting,” she said.

According to traditional accounts, ancient Chinese culture was bestowed by the heavens, so it is imbued with spirituality. Ms. Zwolak-Gniot said that as a believer, she believes that in the modern world, people need to search for values, and in her opinion, people lack them.

Both ladies congratulated the Shen Yun artists on their performance.

Great admiration and appreciation for the artists “for seeking their roots” was expressed by Ms. Zwolak-Gniot. She said she appreciated the team for reviving traditions, as they would fade away if not nurtured. And it would be a loss for “the Chinese people and all of humanity” because “this is our heritage,” she said.

A Total Work of Art

“I am very moved. The visual, aesthetic experience was amazing. The music also affected me a lot, in an extraordinary way. I still feel it,” said Filip Frąkała, a visual artist.

Mr. Filip Frąkała was moved by the performance of Shen Yun at the Opera Hall of the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin, Poland, on March 3, 2023. (NTD) — Mr. Filip Frąkała was moved by the performance of Shen Yun at the Opera Hall of the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures in Lublin, Poland, on March 3, 2023. NTD

Shen Yun’s unique orchestra is the only one in the world permanently combining Eastern and Western sounds, with ancient Chinese instruments atop a classical Western ensemble.

“I’m glad that today I could be here, to experience it,” said Mr. Frąkała. He stressed that it is a great work, and even “the realization of the idea of the total work of art, where different art forms are united.”

It included “animation, music, dance, and amazingly it all works together well,“ he said. “I haven’t seen something like this.”

The performance captivated Mr. Frąkala. He assessed that visually the costumes were extraordinary–both as part of the characterization and as props. He also said that he was very impressed by the long “water sleeves” costume in a dance performed by the women. “Amazing acrobatics with those sleeves,” he noted.

He also really enjoyed the moment when the men imitated “a drawing of the mountains. It really made an incredible impression.”

“You could feel that by going to the foreground, they were drawing the part that was further away—and that deepened the perception of the work more,” Mr. Frąkała explained.

It was believed that traditional Chinese clothing reflected what clothes were worn in Heaven. Shen Yun accurately reflects the spirit of a particular dynasty or era in its costumes.

“I think it was these costumes, these colors that were very vivid, that gave the effect of shimmering space. Everything just shimmered in the eyes,” he recounted.

“I experience it all the time, and as soon as I close my eyes, I feel that I have these images somewhere in front of my eyelids,” the artist said.

The spirituality emanating from the performance and the values presented by the performers are, according to Mr. Frąkała, very topical. “I am a Catholic, but I felt a common ground here” in terms of the manifestation of the divine element in art, he said.

He also stated that Shen Yun’s art “exposed many of the hypocrisies we are fed on a daily basis.” According to him, important things were told with dance, music, and other art forms, which is not easy, but deep content was felt in this message.

Addressing the artists, Mr. Frąkała said they are doing an amazing job. “I respect it very much. I am extremely moved, and I thank you for it,” he said.

Reporting by Miranda Tsai and Agnieszka Iwaszkiewicz. Translated by Mikołaj Jaroszewicz.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.