AMNÉVILLE, France—Shen Yun Performing Arts held a performance at the Galaxie Amnéville on the evening of Dec. 20, and it was a special treat for Svetlana Brikina and her family. Mrs. Brikina, an office manager in the financial industry, said, “We love it. The children love it very much.”

There are many characters in the stories taken from 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Mrs. Brikina said her daughter “likes the monsters. She likes when there are clouds.”

“It was magical,” she said, adding that her daughter liked the acrobatics.

However, Mrs. Brikina found it very interesting that Shen Yun goes deeper into Chinese culture, especially with music.

Shen Yun features a live orchestra that combines both Eastern and Western instruments. The two-stringed erhu has a sound that leaves the audience entranced. “I really love that instrument,” she said.

“It sounds so wonderful,” Mrs. Brikina said. She noted that it has a healing or therapeutic effect on listeners.

Mrs. Brikina felt the orchestra’s performance was “like a meditation. The music is a show [in and of itself] and it is truly wonderful. I love the live music. It changes everything, you know, the atmosphere.”

She said how much her children enjoyed stories that used Shen Yun’s patented animated screen. The pieces were delightful for young people and “even for me,” she said.

Mrs. Brikina said she and her family are originally from Russia. The Communist regime in China, even today, continues to persecute people of faith. Although she was not aware of this, she said, “I think it is good that you tell us through the dance performance what is happening, so we should all know about it.”

About the performance, she said, “It was incredible. We see how much work goes into it, how they put in so much effort. But for [the audience], it looks like they are [doing it effortlessly]. It looks very easy, but I see that it is difficult for them—many hours [of work]—and we really appreciate this show.”