It had been a year since the colonel and his wife, Jeannette Blanchard, who live in Corsica, had booked their tickets to see the show at the Corum in Montpellier on the evening of Wednesday, March 4.

“I was moved,” said Mrs. Blanchard, a retired home care nurse. “At times, I had tears in my eyes.”

Jeannette Blanchard was “really taken” by the story told through dance and music.

“It’s magical. It’s really beautiful,” she explains, before adding that her feelings are truly internal, profound, and that she lacks the words to express what she feels. “It completely transported me.”

“It makes the show lively, very, very lively,” exclaims Mrs. Blanchard about the orchestra. “It’s beautiful. It adds even more life and intensity. That’s what makes it so emotional, too.”

“It’s very important,” said the colonel about this mission, “especially given the current regime in China. On the contrary, what they’re doing is great. They should keep it up!”

“I think this is an important message that can be conveyed to society,” he said.

As a nurse, Jeannette Blanchard was particularly moved by one of the paintings set in contemporary China.

“Because of my job—I was a nurse—it’s true that I don’t like to see people being persecuted or mistreated. I can’t stand it. For me, it’s an injustice that shouldn’t exist,” she says.

However, the show gave him a lot of hope, particularly in terms of the messages of kindness and tradition conveyed through the various scenes in the show that tell stories.

Gilles Blanchard acknowledges that “kindness is very important,” recalling extreme situations during rescue missions he participated in abroad, such as the tsunami in Thailand.

“Kindness can be found in situations like this, and then unfortunately we forget about it, but it’s true that kindness is something very important and that people should keep it in mind,” the colonel said.

For Mrs. Blanchard, there is no reason to hesitate about going to see Shen Yun: “You have to go, you have to see it. It’s something to admire.”

“Especially since it’s impossible to imagine the amount of work that goes into putting on a show of this quality. It’s impressive,” Mr. Blanchard added.

They are Daniel Rodriguez, a self-employed tile layer, and Françoise Rodriguez, a healthcare manager, sophrologist, and reflexologist, both now retired.

“It was truly magnificent, things you don’t usually see. It was really exceptional, the clothes and everything, the magnificent costumes, really great,” said Mr. Rodriguez after the show.

“Beautiful choreography, and then being accompanied by an orchestra, I think that makes all the difference,” Mrs. Rodriguez said

“We have stars in our eyes,” she adds.

The various scenes in the show take the audience on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, blending myths, legends, dynasties, and contemporary stories to bring this culture to life through dance and music.

“It’s the whole story, with scenes and events that are part of China’s history, which is moving, with events and repression,” she said. “There are all these little things that punctuate the story, and I found it very interesting and touching.”

Both appreciated Shen Yun’s mission, which is to restore and convey classical Chinese culture to the public since the company’s founding in 2006 in New York. This cultural and artistic heritage has almost disappeared from China, systematically destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party.

“It’s very good. It’s good to raise awareness of everything that has existed through this show,” said Daniel Rodriguez, referring to the company’s mission.

“It’s a message that can bring hope, I think. Especially right now,” she said. “It’s a beautiful message that is being conveyed by this growing company.”

“You absolutely must see it because it’s truly extraordinary and truly exceptional. Truly magnificent,” Mr. Rodriguez said.