SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is a Reminder to Return to Happiness, Says French Former Inspector General

Apr 27, 2023
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Shen Yun Is a Reminder to Return to Happiness, Says French Former Inspector General
Didier Garnier, a former Inspector General of Agriculture, attended Shen Yun in Tours on April 24, 2023. (NTD)

TOURS, France—On April 24 and 25, the unique sounds of Shen Yun Performing Arts resounded in the capital of Touraine, which has been the capital of France several times.

Didier Garnier is a former Inspector General of Agriculture. “It is a magnificent show! The production is very well done. It is the whole history of China, which unfortunately we know very little of in France, and it’s a real pleasure. The specific technique is also excellent and allows us to understand better. It’s great!” he said.

Mr. Garnier said that he was “amazed both by the history and by the spirit and knowledge of this culture that we are learning about, which is completely different from our Western culture.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, and a pioneer in the performing arts world.

The dancers’ artistic level is “excellent: when you see the whole thing, the choreography ... the technique, all at the same time, because they have to adapt to fit in the screen at the same time as the dance!” said Mr. Garnier, referring to Shen Yun’s digital projection, a Shen Yun innovation which creates seamless interaction between projection and performers on stage—an invention so original it has its own patent.

In addition to the technical and aesthetic aspects, Mr. Garnier was sensitive to the spirituality conveyed in many of Shen Yun’s dance narratives. In reviving China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture, Shen Yun also pays tribute to this ancient Chinese belief that the culture was inherited from the divine.
“That’s the spirit! And to give this idea of God and heaven, I believe this is the whole history of our humanity,” said Mr. Garnier.
“It is indeed important for the actual world. The tenor expressed all these things very well. In our atheist world, we lose our human values; we go towards violence, towards things where we feel bad about, where our soul feels bad. I believe this is a recall to return towards happiness.”
Jean-Marie Ogez, former chief warrant officer in the Foreign Legion, attended Shen Yun at the Palais des Congrès in Tours on April 24, 2023. (NTD)
Jean-Marie Ogez, former chief warrant officer in the Foreign Legion, attended Shen Yun at the Palais des Congrès in Tours on April 24, 2023. (NTD)
Jean-Marie Ogez was a chief warrant officer in the Foreign Legion. Shen Yun is “magnificent. The synchronization! The costumes! Marvelous!” said Mr. Ogez.

“It’s full of warmth, full of tradition,” he said, noting that the dancers were “very beautiful. A lot of work, exceptional synchronization!”

“It is exceptional. Last year, I came and found it exceptional. Now it is ... Every year, it is wonderful!”

Serge Lavaure is a retired rural doctor. Living in Limoges, he did not hesitate to travel the 250 kilometers to see Shen Yun.

“The show was extraordinary. I love the diversity, the music, the beauty of the scenes, the beauty of the music, the dances which were quite varied. Most importantly, the physical prowess and difficulty of the spins, jumps, etc. it was very pretty!”
Serge Lavaure, a retired general physician, came from Limoges to see Shen Yun in Tours on April 24, 2023. (NTD)
Serge Lavaure, a retired general physician, came from Limoges to see Shen Yun in Tours on April 24, 2023. (NTD)

This doctor was also impressed by the artistic level of the dancers: “It must take pretty incredible training to reach such perfection and such a level of difficulty in the jumps!”

He said that he felt both “admiration for the difficulty of the technical prowess and the beauty of the dances, but also an intense emotion towards what comes from all the dancers.”

Indeed, classical Chinese dance has the special factor of allowing dancers to express their emotions and feelings on stage, thus allowing artists to tell a story without words.

For Dr. Lavaure, Shen Yun “can bring peace, it can bring serenity to everyone, it can bring calm and kindness, which we are missing a lot right now.”

Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaïb.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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