FRANKFURT, Europe—Mr. Jurgen Ball, attended the opening night of the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts Company at the Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle, a well-known cultural and congress center.
Mr. Ball is one of the owners and director at the General German Dance Teachers Association, the largest of its kind in the world, with 2,600 members throughout Germany.
Sharing his background, he said “I’m involved in the dance field and have been very involved in the ethnic and contemporary dance environment, as well as in ballroom dance.”
He said during the intermission that “The show is excellent. I am quite impressed that a number of the scenes presenting stories from the present day China.”
Not only was he impressed with the show, but also that so many young people were among the performers, “I found it very meaningful that so many young people were among the performers. Most importantly, as a member of the dance sector, I found that these young people were excellent artists.”
Given his interest in different types of dance, he said, “Although my eyes are used to a different types of dance, I found it fascinating and unique when 20 young women perform on stage in unison and are always in harmony.”
The Mongolian dance performance was of great interest to Mr. Ball.
“It was rather interesting that despite the discipline and the acrobatic movements by the individual dancers, the end-effect was still a singular entity. The choreography had greatly perfected the effect of the group on the audience.”
According to the Shen Yun website, “A unique feature of Chinese civilization is that its history has been documented and passed down uninterrupted for 5,000 years, sometimes in vivid detail.”
It is said that one’s bearing is inherited from ones ancestors. Therefore, “Being able to present one soul in the dance performance is rare. From what I have seen, the Shen Yun dancers’ body language brings their soul to the forefront. This also can be seen in their individual gestures.”
Mr. Ball recognized that the Shen Yun artists want to bring back China’s ancient culture, something that was lost during the Communist regime. He said, “She Yun is culture and they bring back the country’s culture. It is the Chinese culture that should be recognized by the world. This is best done through dance and music. Dance is the language of the world.”
The evening greatly enriched Mr. Ball. He will always remember the beautiful scenes presented on stage. He will go home happy because “there are young people who discipline themselves and believe that they are not just dancing for their own enjoyment, but for the world. They leave the audience with the feeling that their goal can be achieved. They also show the audience that this is our culture and our national treasure.”
Being involved in the dance field, Mr. Ball is of the opinion that the dance culture of any ethnicity should be kept alive.
“This is what my association is working hard at to accomplish, because the cultural soul of any ethnicity must remain alive. The cultural soul must be carried forward by the descendants of any culture.”
Reporting by Epoch Times Germany Staff and Heide B. Malhotra
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006
