STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Easter Sunday on April 24 marked Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s debut in Stockholm. Not only that, but the international ensemble was welcomed at a time when Spring blossoms had begun flowering, ending the cold icy Winter endured by the people of this auspicious Swedish capital.
And though the change in weather lightened the mood of the northerners, the New York-based company’s performance put them in a higher state of excitement, after the expectant audience inched their way into the saloon of the heritage Circus Theatre to take their seats.
The first gasps of admiration and applause rang out when the curtain rose to a heavenly scene, bursting with promise of what was to come.
Shen Yun has aspirations to reawaken China’s 5,000-year-old civilization, a rich and treasured gift to preserve and share with all people, according to the show program. Traditional Chinese culture advocates high ideals. The legends exploit themes of high moral values, where humankind and gods were intertwined.
No one would have agreed more than Sophia Åkervall, an ethnic Chinese from Taiwan living in Sweden and executive at Sony Ericson. After the show, she said that she would like her children to learn more about traditional Chinese culture.
