SEVILLE, Spain—On the evening of March 26, Raquel Jaro, a physical education teacher and former rhythmic gymnast, attended a Shen Yun performance at the Cartuja Center CITE theater together with Maite Peregrin, a social sciences teacher specializing in geography and history. Both said they thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
Ms. Jaro explained that she first learned about Shen Yun through social media and suggested attending the show with friends. A group of six ultimately made the trip from a nearby city to see the performance together.
After the show, the group shared their impressions enthusiastically. Ms. Jaro said, “It was beautiful! I was amazed by the beauty of the performance, and also by the quality of the dancers’ movements. I loved it!”
Throughout Shen Yun’s performance, traditional values such as filial piety, kindness, truthfulness, and loyalty are present on stage through dance.
Both women said the cultural aspects of the performance offered meaningful insight into Chinese values. Ms. Peregrin noted, “I have a different perspective. It changes my concept of culture completely.”
Ms. Jaro emphasized the importance of tradition. “If there is no tradition, the origin is lost, the roots are lost. Of course, it is very important,” she said. “It gets diluted with other things. And if people do not take from tradition, they take from other things that manipulate us, like economies and other stories.”
She added that such values are increasingly at risk in modern society. “Nowadays, traditional things are being lost a little. Authenticity, that gets lost—what is authentic, the origin of where we come from—and that is why it is very beautiful to see.”
Ms. Peregrin agreed, describing the performance as a “philosophical, ancestral approach” that she found deeply beautiful. She also noted that the experience was “surprising” because it felt so distinctly different from the Western world.
