BRISBANE, Australia—Suzanne Newman, a presenter at the award winning 4MBS Classic FM Radio in Brisbane, loved every part of the Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening presentation at QPAC’s Concert Hall.

“It was wonderful, it was fantasy, humour, myth and legend, Chinese history. I loved it, it was really good,” she said.

Shen Yun, based in New York, was formed in 2006 by a team of talented Chinese artists who wished to reawaken China’s 5,000-year authentic cultural heritage through the performing arts and share it with the world.

Ms. Newsman, who hosts the popular Brisbane radio show for the aged, Silver Memories, attended the first of three performances.

Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun’s colourful presentation that re-enacted China’s beloved myths and legends lifted by an interactive digital backdrop, a full symphony orchestra combining ancient Chinese instruments, vocalists singing Chinese lyrics in bel canto opera style, accompanied by piano and an erhu virtuoso who wowed the audience into silence, clapping loudly at the end.

“A totally beautiful experience, I enjoyed every part of it,” Ms. Newman said. “I loved listening to the opera singers and I thought it was good to see the messages they were conveying ... it was really good having the translation.”

To assist listeners, English subtitles were projected onto the backdrop screen behind the singers who were singing lyrics “brimming with philosophical reflection, containing deep layers of meaning,” says the Shen Yun website.

“A wonderful performance, I enjoyed every bit of it, every performer, every dancer. So unique, so talented and wonderful to be bringing [Chinese] history to our country.”

She felt the Shen Yun performance had a healing quality.

“The fact that you can do such healing with dance and with music is wonderful,” she said.

Hotel Manager Struck by Spiritual Depth of Shen Yun

Hotel manager Luiz Prebianca was struck by the spiritual depth of ancient China unfolding before his eyes. He was grateful Shen Yun brought a piece of China’s true heritage to Australia and regrets the performance will never be seen in China.

“The show was beautiful, it is really great to be immersed in Chinese culture ... and to see that here in Brisbane is just amazing, I loved it,” he said.

Many audience members were surprised to learn of the persecution of the spiritual meditation form, but Mr. Prebianca already knew because he had several friends from China, he said.

For thousands of years, Buddhist, Taoist, and other disciplines were at the heart of society, the Shen Yun website explains.

“Calligraphy, music, medicine, attire, and much more were said to have been passed down from the heavens.

“Unfortunately, over its past 60 years of rule, the communist regime [CCP] has treated traditional Chinese values—centered on the idea of harmony between heaven and earth—as a threat to its existence.

“Systematic campaigns like the Cultural Revolution, it has uprooted traditional beliefs and destroyed ancient treasures--bringing traditional 5,000 years of civilization to the brink of extinction.”

Mr. Prebianca says true Chinese culture was “rich, amazing and so ancient.”

He said. “I have many Chinese friends and they don’t really talk much about their spirituality, especially about Falun Dafa which is something I think is really special.”

Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice rooted in ancient Chinese culture that includes meditation and a moral philosophy based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, according to the website.

Mr. Prebianca was really moved by the whole performance. He said “It’s really great to be able to come and see that [Shen Yun] with your own eyes. It is one thing to hear about it, a whole different thing is to be able to see it with your own eyes and how special, how beautiful and how amazing it is.”

Mr. Prebianca is originally from Brazil. He won the Accommodation Association of Australia’s Achievers’ Awards Best Department Manager in 2013. He said he was feeling aggravated that Shen Yun could not be performed in China.

“But when I go to China, I would only wish to be able to see something that beautiful, something that amazing, which actually portrays the Chinese heritage, the Chinese culture over there.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Raiatea Tahana-Reese

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006