ISTANBUL, Turkey—Being a city with a tradition as a capital city since the Roman Empire, Istanbul welcomed Shen Yun Performing Arts on a warm night of May 21st 2010. The Anadolu Auditorium in Istanbul´s European part–the city is divided between Europe and Asia—witnessed for the first time that Shen Yun came to Turkey. Istanbul, known for its cultural diversity, is partly a UNESCO world cultural heritage and serves as European Capital of Culture for 2010.
Cultural ties between Turkey and China seem to exist—at least if one listens to Mr. Mehmet Büyükfirat, who came to see Shen Yun with his friend Mrs. Gülzan Aybasti. He said that he always felt a big connection with Chinese culture. At the age of six he started to eat with chopsticks and later started to learn much about China’s traditions.
The golf player who has won a championship in Istanbul told us he really liked the Shen Yun performance and that it gives a good overview over Chinese culture.
“I recommend to people interested in China to watch Shen Yun.”
“This show reflects the Chinese culture purely and truely”, he said, and added: “The colors and the backdrop looked very nice. They suprised me combining Chinese legends and dances.”
Ms. Aybasti was very glad that she had come to see the Shen Yun performance. It was the first time that she had come in touch with Chinese culture. “I’m surprised to see such a wonderful show here in Turkey! I’m very pleased and excited to have seen it. It is all interesting and exciting.”
She added: “The show is very colourful and very imaginative. It is also very calming. You feel calmness inside after seeing the dances. One also sees the theatrical tradition of this culture in the show.”
She also commented on the music and the costumes, saying: “The music was lovely. And the costumes were very attractive in terms of vision. They quickly grab your attention. The combination with the backdrop scenes is also very good.
“While I was watching I had the thought that I should invite the ten year old daughter of a friend of mine, because she has a good talent in audiovision and she is very imaginative. I think this show can enlarge the imaginative abilities of children”.
Shen Yun will perform two more shows in Istanbul´s Anadolu Auditorium, on Saturday, one at 3.30 p.m. and one at 8.30 p.m. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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