“Right at the beginning, it touched my heart deeply when the curtain rose and suddenly, the variety of colors, the splendor of colors, really flashed into my eyes. That was very beautiful and pleasant,” Ralf Gande, an IT company owner, said. “During one or two scenes, I actually had tears in my eyes because they touched me quite deeply.”
Andreas Mielke, a graphic designer, said, “The initial effect of the characters emerging from the stage was astonishing. But the colors, above all, are impressive. The vibrant colors of the costumes and the way they’re arranged are wonderful. Simply wonderful.”
Thomas Heiderhoff, the co-owner of a medical equipment company, said, “It’s stunning, stunning. I was so deeply impressed by it. And I had little prior knowledge and it was still fascinating. The colors, the way it’s made, the story, everything about it, it’s wonderful!”
Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture and values from before “China before communism.”
“It captivated me,” Michael Dziewonski, a real estate developer, said.
“The effects of the stage design transitioning to digital projection were completely new to me; I'd never seen anything like it,” he said of Shen Yun’s patented special effect that allows its performers to interact with the backdrop of the stage.
“And simply combining the traditional Chinese elements with modern elements in the final act was a new and wonderful experience. It’s important to remember that you have a very rich tradition and to cherish it. That’s fantastic.”
Mr. Mielke said, “There were such heroic moments, but also graceful ones. These are things that can’t really be explained psychologically. It’s a human capacity, and it’s portrayed there playfully and through dance. It’s fantastic.”
Astrid Heiderhoff, the co-owner of a medical equipment company, said, “There’s a lot of talk about the Divine in the show. We also deal with that a lot, that we are truly divine beings and so on. And it touched me deeply that this is now being officially addressed. And this song, and also the ending scene, it’s a message that people are awakening again and returning to their belief in the Divine—it was stunning.”
Mr. Heiderhoff said, “It was about how goodness—the good virtues—need to return to people, and not this modernity, this evil thing, which is said to be the work of Satan. That was what the tenor sang. This went very deep. And I thought, it’s worldwide, it’s not just China or Iran or Germany. It’s really gone around the world. We are all divine beings and share the same virtues. People like the same things. They don’t like this poison, this spiritual poison that has been manufactured. This has been conveyed so beautifully. I was truly captivated.”
Mr. Dziewonski said, “I’m actually sad because the world is changing so fast, with all these influencers and digital creators, but actually, all these old traditions and stories are much more grounding and give so much more energy than today’s world. I’m very active myself and always have a lot to do, but something like this just brings us back to how our grandparents and ancestors lived: maybe a healthier way, maybe a better way.”
Ms. Heiderhoff said, “This simply needs to be shared with the world: this willingness to help that’s being shown. It’s been so lost, the way people help each other without expecting anything in return, and everything used to be so readily available. And it simply needs to return so that the world can become a better place again.”
Through a series of vignettes, Shen Yun takes audiences on a journey from ancient myths and legends to modern-day tales of courage in the face of spiritual persecution in communist China. For this reason, Shen Yun cannot perform in China to this day.
“One always has to remember, they’re forbidden, or they’re not accepted in mainland China,” Mr. Dziewonski said. “And I always think that you have to fight for your rights and stand up for them. And the broader the field, the more they'll be heard, of course.”
“Fascinating, I can only admire them,” Ms. Heiderhoff said. “There’s a grace to them; a beauty, a perfection. And I can only admire how hard they must work to bring this message to the world. My utmost respect.”
Mr. Gande said, “Thank you so much for persevering for so long. This is my first time here today. It was a lot of fun and has inspired me to come back again.”
