NANTES, France—The best of traditional Chinese culture was back at the Cité des Congrès where the Shen Yun Performing Arts Global Company took to the stage in Nantes from April 3 to 5.
On Wednesday, April 5, Hélène Chevillotte, a commercial editor, was among the spectators.
Having practiced Western classical dance, Ms. Chevillotte was “impressed by the high level of the classical Chinese dancers.”
‘It Was So Light’
Catherine Evrard, a former saleswoman, came to experience Shen Yun for her birthday. She also practiced classical dance in the past. She thought the choreography “was perfection!”
“There’s a lot to look at because I was watching the arms, the legs! It was so light. Indeed, you could see the sky, you could see everything, the human... I enjoyed it very much and I am delighted!”
‘Deep Human Values’
Stéphane Buffetaut is deputy mayor of the town of Apremont, near Nantes. He enjoyed the artistic level of the dancers: “The dancers achieve a very high degree of technicality and grace in their movements.”
“It’s shimmering, it’s pleasing to the eye and the music is interesting, because you can feel the Chinese-inspired music but revisited in a contemporary way,” he said, referring to Shen Yun’s orchestra, which is unique because it combines traditional Chinese music instruments such as the erhu, pipa, and percussion, with a Western symphony orchestra.
“Civilizations are ancient and they were founded on deep human values. This is true of China, as it is of France. In France, we also had a revolution. In Vendée, wide scale massacres were carried out by the French Republic; the past cannot be wiped out. The past feeds the present and to want to wipe the slate clean is a great mistake!”
For Mr. Buffetaut, the show expressed the existence of a connection to the divine.
“When the singer is on stage ... the text [lyrics] itself, we see that it is spiritual. Then, on several occasions, there are references to heaven, to men coming from heaven ... It’s a transcendence.”
‘A Feeling of Happiness’
Dorian Nizon, a physician, and Léna Renard, a psychologist, said they were impressed by Shen Yun, which they found both “energizing” and “soothing.”
“It’s very fluid, the choreography is very well organized,” said Mr. Nizon.
For Mr. Nizon, Shen Yun’s music “is soothing, it’s calming. It’s a feeling of happiness that is very pleasant.”
Ms. Renard added, “It’s enough to make you forget all your everyday problems because it takes you somewhere else. At least, that’s really the impression I got!”
“It makes you want to believe in the spiritual, in something that is beyond us and transcendent, because of everything that comes out of the show.”
“The fact of being carried like that on a daily basis by beautiful values, calm, serenity ... it allows us to be more at peace on a daily basis and to give the best of ourselves,” she concluded.
