SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Makes the World More Beautiful,’ Says Polish Physician

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Shen Yun ‘Makes the World More Beautiful,’ Says Polish Physician
Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company's curtain call at the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theater. A packed performance with the audience giving the artists and musicians a standing ovation, on March 18, 2024. Huang He/The Epoch Times

GDYNIA, Poland—On the evening of March 18, Shen Yun performed for the first time at the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theater in Gdynia.

Renowned immunologist Professor Piotr Trzonkowski, a leading figure in the organ transplant community, and his wife, Professor Natalia Marek-Trzonkowska, the president of the University of Gdańsk’s International Center for Cancer Vaccine Science Project, attended the performance with their children.

“[Shen Yun] inspires people and ... makes the world more beautiful. We liked it very much; it was a beautiful, beautiful show,” Mrs. Marek-Trzonkowska said. “We are very impressed.”

“Congratulations. Super. Keep it up,” Mr. Trzonkowska chimed in.

The family was first introduced to Shen Yun when the kids saw clips of Shen Yun’s performance online and were fascinated by the difficult moves in classical Chinese dance.
As physicians, the couple was especially moved by the modern-day story dance piece depicting the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution and forced organ harvest from Falun Gong practitioners—a peaceful spiritual group whose followers adhere to the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

“We know the history of Falun Gong. We also worked with a surgeon who came from China, and we are very sad about [organ harvesting]. We understand the problem, and I think it’s important to talk about it,” Mrs. Marek-Trzonkowska expressed.

Mr. Trzonkowski added, “[It’s] such a shocking thing.”

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The mission of Shen Yun artists is to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

Ms. Marek-Trzonkowska definitely felt “a deep sense of spirituality” as she watched the performance and would like to express her gratitude and best wishes to all the artists.

“Thank you very much for what you are doing. It’s so important, and it’s beautiful,” she said.

‘This is Top-Notch Art’

Daniel Kulaszewicz enjoyed Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theater on March 18, 2024. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
Daniel Kulaszewicz enjoyed Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Danuta Baduszkowa Musical Theater on March 18, 2024. Mary Mann/The Epoch Times

Also enjoying the performance was Daniel Kulaszewicz, an event manager and co-founder of “Akademia Event Managera.”

He thought Shen Yun’s performance was a work of art of the highest caliber.

“I liked the show very much,“ Mr. Kulaszewicz said. ”The most interesting, for me, were the dance performances. The acting was very interesting.”

He found it quite remarkable that, in a time when artistic performances were on the decline, Shen Yun was still able to fill up theaters to the last seat.

The company is “very successful. It boasts a very high attendance rate. It is of the highest quality.”

Mr. Kulaszewicz especially enjoyed the piece where female dancers used yellow fans to imitate blossoming flowers in the spring. He also loved the humor in the short story-based dance depicting a day in the life of a restaurant.

Referring to the Shen Yun artists’ determination to uphold the traditional values ​​​​of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance despite persecution from the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. Kulaszewicz said he was very moved.

“I like [the way Shen Yun shows traditional culture] very much, and I like that they’re protesting against [the violence] of the Chinese Communist Party,” he stated.
“What they’re doing is very impressive. I wish them every success, all the best, and [I hope] they can keep doing this and showing it [the beauty of the ancient Chinese culture] to the world for as long as possible.”

‘The Dance is Heavenly’

(From R) Maura Kulbikowska, her mother, and two friends, Małgorzata and Ola Bambrowicz, enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Danuta Baduszkowa Music Theater on Mar. 18, 2024. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
(From R) Maura Kulbikowska, her mother, and two friends, Małgorzata and Ola Bambrowicz, enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Danuta Baduszkowa Music Theater on Mar. 18, 2024. Mary Mann/The Epoch Times

“We liked the performance very much. It was incredibly colorful, [the dances were] very synchronized, very gentle and soft—that surprised me a lot,” company owner Maura Kulbikowska exclaimed after the show.

She was accompanied by her mother, a retired physician, and two friends—Małgorzata Bambrowicz, the owner of a dating company, and Ola Bambrowicz, a psychodietician.

Ms. Kulbikowska’s mother thought, “The dancers are so delicate and so perfect. Every dance, every movement, was in sync. It was heavenly. Absolutely wonderful.”

Shen Yun artists are highly trained in classical Chinese dance. Dating back thousands of years, it is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms in the world.

According to the company’s website, the classical Chinese dance we see in China today is heavily mixed with military and modern dance styles. Only at Shen Yun can you find it performed in its purest form—the way it was originally passed down through the generations.

What impressed Małgorzata the most was Shen Yun’s colorful costumes and “the wonderful synchronization between all the dancers and the [3D animation] backdrop.” She thought it was “spectacular.”
Ola especially enjoyed the solo performance by the erhu. “It was gorgeous,” she exclaimed.

The erhu is a 4,000-year-old Chinese instrument that mimics the human voice. Though it only has two strings, it is capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, resonating with the profound depths of the human soul.

Moreover, Ola can feel that Shen Yun artists are trying to “convey [a deeper message] than just a beautiful performance.”

It’s about “longing for a country—a beautiful country that is good to the people, and the people cherish the country.”

Ms. Kulbikowska, too, resonated with the message.

“There were [programs from] present-day and those from thousands of years ago. It was about goodness, compassion, the need to be a good person,” she expressed.

“Yes, you could feel that, and it makes you want to spread this message all over the world.”

Reporting by Mary Mann, Huang He, Mikołaj Jaroszewicz, and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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