Mayor of Toowoomba Applauds Shen Yun: ‘We Are So Proud to Have You Here’
May 03, 2022
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Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (NTD)
TOOWOOMBA, Australia—Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio congratulated Shen Yun Performing Arts after seeing it for the first time.
“It was an absolutely amazing night,” he said after attending the performance on May 3. “I congratulate [Shen Yun] on the standard. And of course our beautiful Empire Theatre here in Toowoomba has great value to us historically ... and we are so proud to have you here.”
Mr. Antonio, who has been mayor of the Toowoomba region since 2012, praised Shen Yun’s calibre: “The standard tonight was so high and it was so entertaining ... that’s the very reason the Empire Theatre tonight was packed.”
He described the Shen Yun experience as “surprising,” adding, “I could recommend it to anybody.”
New York-based Shen Yun now has seven equally large companies that simultaneously tour the world. This year, Shen Yun declares it is showcasing “China before communism.”
Divinely-inspired, traditional culture flourished in China for 5,000 years, throughout which people transmitted timeless values such as loyalty, honesty, courage, and compassion, and upheld faith in the divine.
But since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically destroyed and distorted China’s rich culture, cutting the country off from its deeply spiritual roots.
Mr. Antonio said that traditional Chinese culture is “well worth preserving.”
Shen Yun’s Beauty Resonates With Audience
Angela Jacob (L) and Sunny Jacob (R) attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (NTD)
Floral designer Ms. Angela Jacob, who was in attendance on the same night, called the Shen Yun experience a “visual feast.”
Ms. Jacob has owned the Brassall Florist shop in Ipswich, Queensland, for over 30 years. She commented that one of the Shen Yun dances that features the plum blossom flower made her cry.
“I just love the colour. It was just beautiful,” she said. “The beauty of it just brought me to tears.”
Gypsy-Leigh Clark (L) and Jay Stevenson (R) attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (Yuying Xiao/The Epoch Times)
Meanwhile, professional dance videographer Ms. Gypsy-Leigh Clark had three words to describe her impression of Shen Yun: “Magic on stage.”
“I think the colours and the fabrics are beautiful to the eye. The dance style as well is pretty special to watch; the elegance on stage is nice,” she said.
“Sitting in the audience I can definitely feel goosebumps and tingles running through me, and I think that in itself was part of the magic that you see, and what they’re creating on stage and how it translates to the audience,” Ms. Clark added. “I’m feeling the spirituality through that energy in the air, and what they’re giving off as well.”
Albert Vermeulen (L) and his wife (R) attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (NTD)
Mr. Albert Vermeulen, who also found himself in the Shen Yun audience thanks to his wife who organized the trip, said he was impressed by the entire visual experience. Mr. Vermeulen is a doctor who specialises in the treatment of skin cancer.
“The choreography, the way it’s put together, the movements, the colour, the music, the way it flows, has been quite impressive,” he said.
Sarah Waters attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (NTD)
Another audience member, Ms. Sarah Waters, repeatedly called Shen Yun “amazing” and expressed how all the elements of the performance worked together seamlessly.
“I just love how everything is in unison together, and the colour ... you just can’t fault anything,” she expressed. “It’s beautiful.”
Ms. Waters is the manager of Oak Tree Retirement Village Baker Street.
She said it wasn’t just the surface beauty of Shen Yun that she appreciated—she also expressed that she gained a deeper understanding of China’s traditional culture from watching the performance.
“The kindness and the caring that are being portrayed through it are lovely,” she said.
Ken Green attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Australia, on May 3, 2022. (NTD)
“There are aspects of this show that I’ve never seen, ever, in a stage show,” he commented. “I’m particularly impressed with the backdrop and how the backdrop becomes part of the action, where someone, who is not a real character, suddenly appears out of the stage and becomes real. I find that fabulous to watch.”
Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop-stage performance interaction enables characters depicted in the dance pieces to effectively “travel back and forth between the stage and the animated backdrop,” the company says on its website.
“The newly patented effect limitlessly expands the stage, with the animated images appearing to be lifelike extensions of the performers,” it added.
Mr. Green applauded Shen Yun’s “perfection and precision.” He encouraged everyone to come experience Shen Yun.
“You must see this show,” he said, directing his message at anyone who has not yet seen Shen Yun.
“Any words that I use, or any expressions that I use, or any advertisement that I see on television cannot do justice to what is happening before me.”
Reporting by NTD, Yuying Xiao, and Gabrielle Stephenson.
