Oslo Professor: Shen Yun Is ‘breathtaking and beautiful’

The Shen Yun Performing Arts World Tour 2009 came to Norway on March 14.
Oslo Professor: Shen Yun Is ‘breathtaking and beautiful’
Professor Helleland, an associate professor of linguistics at a university in Oslo, was fond of the traditional legends in the Shen Yun show, especially the one about Monk Ji Gong. (Anders Eriksson/The Epoch Times)
3/16/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Professor-Helleland.jpg" alt="Professor Helleland, an associate professor of linguistics at a university in Oslo, was fond of the traditional legends in the Shen Yun show, especially the one about Monk Ji Gong. (Anders Eriksson/The Epoch Times)" title="Professor Helleland, an associate professor of linguistics at a university in Oslo, was fond of the traditional legends in the Shen Yun show, especially the one about Monk Ji Gong. (Anders Eriksson/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1829596"/></a>
Professor Helleland, an associate professor of linguistics at a university in Oslo, was fond of the traditional legends in the Shen Yun show, especially the one about Monk Ji Gong. (Anders Eriksson/The Epoch Times)
OSLO, Norway—The Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour came to Norway on March 14.

Professor Helleland is an associate professor of linguistics at a university in Oslo. On this day, he grasped the rare chance to see the Shen Yun premiere performance in Oslo.

The traditional tales in the show were new to Mr. Helleland. However, he said that he could “recognize universal [principles] of mysticism and the divine” in the show.

“I think it was very interesting to watch these mythological events, when the person was predicting the stone avalanche. They didn’t believe him. However, he succeeded in keeping them from harm. I think it was a very nice story,” said Mr. Helleland.

He was referring to the story of Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride. In the scene, Monk Ji Gong, who had supernatural abilities, predicts a disaster, but no one believes him. So he kidnaps the bride from a wedding in order to save people.

Mr. Helleland thinks that this is something that could be happening today.

“You know, there are people who are warning others that something is about to happen. These people may often not be in the mainstream. They might be a bit different, but they have this sense of feeling that something’s going to happen. Like in this case, he could warn the people and rescue their lives. He forced this woman to go with him and the others came after him, and so they were all saved.

“I think this was my favorite act in the traditional context.”

Shen Yun displays a wide variety of colors, music, and dances, which Mr. Helleland appreciated.

“I thought it was breathtaking and beautiful [with] so many incredibly fine costumes. The colors, beautiful dancing, and the music were impressive. It was like stepping into a different world.

“The [3-D] backdrop presentation of the program was very good, and all the ambiance was very nice.

“I believe this [show] will open up Chinese culture.”

Barbo Plogander contributed to the article.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

 

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