Elisa Siragusano at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Teatro degli Arcimboldi, in Milan, on Jan. 17, 2024. (NTD)
MILAN, Italy—People love a good performance that keeps them captivated from beginning to end. Elisa Siragusano is a singer in musicals, and she found Shen Yun Performing Arts to be full of surprises.
“Wonderful! It was wonderful from the beginning to the end. [There were] moments of surprise where we said, wow! Exceptional talent, precision, really wonderful,” said Ms. Siragusano.
Since 2006, Shen Yun has grown from one to eight companies touring the world simultaneously.
“I think this is a huge thing. To have eight companies touring at the same moment means that the impact is very high,” said Ms. Siragusano.
Shen Yun’s eight companies each have an orchestra to accompany the dancers. Ms. Siragusano remarked that this is not an easy thing for a performing arts company to accomplish.
“It was wonderful to see the live orchestra. Seeing the orchestra come into the pit was wonderful because it’s not taken for granted, and you don’t really see that much today,” she said.
Shen Yun’s dances tell stories from past and present-day China, including the persecution of Falun Gong, a practice that is greatly beneficial to the mind and body. Through the performance, Ms. Siragusano saw the conviction of Falun Gong practitioners not giving up their faith despite adversity.
“What definitely comes through is to remain consistent with one’s faith, in spite of what is imposed on us,” she said.
Falun Gong teaches people to live by the principles of, Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance. Ms. Siragusano shared that these principles are important no matter what one’s faith is.
“I think that these three words should guide us. No matter what your faith, no matter what you believe, those three words should guide people always,” she said.
Paolo Berlusconi at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Teatro degli Arcimboldi on Jan. 20, 2024. (NTD)
On the afternoon of Jan. 20, Paolo Berlusconi, an entrepreneur, was in Shen Yun’s audience.
He came to Shen Yun expecting a beautiful performance, and he was not disappointed. But he was also particularly struck by Shen Yun’s use of its art to convey a more profound message.
“So I was prepared for a show of music, of color, of dance, and the expectations were fulfilled. ... You have to be absolutely understanding that the show is brought around the world with a very specific purpose. It is not just a show of entertainment, skills, dancing, but also a much deeper message that it wants to give to the world, which is a message of freedom,” said Mr. Berlusconi.
Shen Yun’s effort to restore Chinese culture before communism is deeply understood by Mr. Berlusconi, who believes that culture is most important to a nation.
“In life I believe that the most important asset of every man is his reputation, in every country I believe it is the value of tradition, of what you carry with you,” he said.
Mr. Berlusconi also shared that seeing Shen Yun has brought him happiness and comfort.
“Here I found perfection, and then the smiles on the faces of all the performers were a beautiful message. So you come out of this show delighted and comforted,” he said.
