FRANKFURT—New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts opened in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 5, and already audience members said they would look forward to next year’s performance.
Chris Hausschild, an IT manager, was one of the visitors that evening in the Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt.
“The tradition, the traditional dance, that is something completely different to what you see on site in China. And you realize that when you compare Shen Yun with what you see on site in China,” said Mr. Hausschild, who had been to China during university. “This is really the tradition, it is something completely different. And also the journey from the past —5,000 years—to the present. There is a very large variety of dances.”
Michaela Mast, who runs a restaurant with an international clientele in the Middle Moselle with her husband, Michael Mast, also felt Shen Yun conveyed something important.
“The values of togetherness and trust were demonstrated again and again—that people were there to help, that no one was left alone. And the gratitude towards all of creation came across very well,” she said.
Mrs. Mast said will tell her guests what a wonderful performance she had attended. The splendor of colors and the flowing movements influenced her so much “that I thought about how I would soon move into my restaurant. It was really very aesthetic and magnificent.”
She felt Shen Yun brings a very special style to the stage and inspires people.
“I think that once you’ve seen it, you'll want more of it. I really enjoyed it,” Mrs. Mast said.
Not only is the performance of the artists’ master class, she said, but it is also “a great opportunity to step away from the every day and engage with something on a different level. Because there is much, much more than what we usually hear.”
Management consultant Boris Böttinger also advises: “Definitely take a look. Regardless of whether you are interested in Chinese culture or not, it is definitely an exciting and very colorful, beautiful change for the eyes.”
Alina Kerste-Gavriluk and Jaroslav Gavriluk, owners of the Hotel Villa Westend in Frankfurt am Main, came to the performance together with their daughters and a friend, and said they will definitely be there again next year.
“Beautiful colors, beautiful costumes, and wonderful music. It was just so much fun and relaxing. It was really divine, you could say, very beautiful,” Mrs. Kerste-Gavriluk said.
“Very interesting stories and very educational stories. We also really liked the singing. Also the instruments, the orchestra, a very beautiful interplay of colors, aesthetics, movement, and music. Very beautiful,” Mrs. Kerste-Gavriluk said.
It is difficult to put into words, but “you get a little tingling feeling from all these beautiful things,” she said.
She added that Shen Yun also does not fail to mention that the Creator exists and that he gives us all this.
“Many have forgotten, and today it is easy to remember that there are also higher powers and the Creator who essentially guide us,” Mrs. Kerste-Gavriluk said.
Mr. Gavriluk said he also really enjoyed the performance.
“I learned a lot about Chinese culture and tradition,” he said. “Culturally, I have now discovered something new and understand the culture much more deeply. That is a very, very great enrichment for the development of people.”
“I think that tradition is increasingly being lost here. I find it astonishing that something like this can be performed—that it can actually still be presented on stage. Tradition—I am originally from Upper Bavaria—has very strong values. And these values are reflected here in Chinese, so to speak. It actually fits together very harmoniously and well. I like it,” Mr. Merz said.
“It touched me deeply,” he said. “They say we are heavenly beings, that is, we come from heaven and now we are standing here and have to rethink our karma. It makes you think. Maybe we should rethink and return to the values that we actually have—accept this again and not get lost in all this diversity and confusion.”
