FRANKFURT, Germany—Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company presented its opening performance at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt am Main on March 30. An enthusiastic audience was looking forward to a show that brought legends and tales from ancient times to modern-day China.
Dr. Claus Helmer, professor and director of the venues “Die Komodie” and “Fritz Remond Theater im Zoo,” was in the audience.
“It was a wonderful evening, filled with colors and grace. It was fascinating, perfect and a day that I won’t forget. It is a rare experience and one is fortunate to be able to see such a show,” Dr. Helmer said.
One of the features of a Shen Yun performance is its use of digital backdrops, using state-of-the-art graphics technology, which provides “magical windows to different realms,” according to the company’s website. “From vast open grasslands in one dance to the stately elegance of Tang Dynasty pavilions in another; from dusty yellow battlegrounds to tropical beaches to Himalayan peaks to picturesque scenery of the Yellow River Delta—the digital projection infinitely expands and transforms the stage.”
“It is just like a dream,” said Dr. Helmer. “The backdrop and stage, given all the colors, are a joy to behold, and the technique is amazing. It appears as if the people on the backdrop suddenly step out of the backdrop and appear on stage. This is magical.”
According to the company’s website, a performance by Shen Yun is a presentation of traditional Chinese culture as it once was: a study in grace, wisdom, and the virtues distilled from the five millennia of Chinese civilization.
Dr. Helmer said: “What’s most fascinating is that the ancient culture is depicted on stage, something not seen today. But, when one watches stories from a 5,000-year-old culture, such as tonight, during only two hours, one moves back in time. One encounters so much during this show and it is outstanding.”
He enjoyed the theme that good prevails, and the contemporary story from China about the persecution of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, which is guided by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.
“I found that the positive prevailed. It made it so wonderful, because one can go home with a feeling of peace and say, life is good.
“The show brings out goodness, which is important for all of humanity. If that would prevail, the world would be more peaceful. If people could follow the Falun Gong principles, the world would be a much better place.
“For me, the show was wonderful. It is like another world, a wonderful world, a world that has inner value. It probably is strange to many, but, if one really deals with it, one sees and awakes to what one didn’t know before, but what one should have known.”
Reporting by Alexander M. Hamrle
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will next perform in Stockholm, Sweden from April 4-6.
For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
