SYDNEY, Australia—Councillor Noel D'Souza from Randwick City Council said he enjoyed every minute of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Lyric Theatre on March 24.
“My wife is a great believer and she convinced me to come and I’m enjoying every minute of it,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it would be grand, but it was very, very, very enjoyable.”
He said the piece “How the Monkey King Came to Be”—inspired by the great 16th-century Chinese classic, Journey to the West—struck a chord with him that touched on a lot of emotions.
“That monkey scene was very, very emotional, and it lifted me up and made me realize why I’m here today. I only came for the entertainment but it was a lesson in freedom, opportunity, and also learning the truth about what is occurring and how there are many trying to reverse that trend and process. It’s very inspirational,” he said.
“It was like a release. … That’s what it felt like. Freedom, moving forward, escape; it’s all these things. It was really good and very educational. I learned a lot tonight so far, and I plan to learn more.”
The councillor said he thought Shen Yun’s message about the depth of culture from “China before communism“ was very important, as in Australia, “we’re trying to do it for our indigenous people because for a long time, their languages were forgotten, their way of life was repressed.
“Being ... very close to our indigenous people, I felt that connection where there was a certain amount of suppression and an attempt to cancel it out. And yet we’ve got a renaissance, a rebirth, and I’m so glad.
“And I heard that the company is in New York, so that was really important too. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to learn, but also a wonderful opportunity to tell the truth of what is happening in China at the moment,” he added.
Shen Yun was formed by practitioners of Falun Gong who escaped persecution in China for their faith and were emboldened to warn the world of the evils of the regime and the human rights violations still happening in China under communism today.
Transforming Pain Into Art
Aircraft engineers Sam Maddalena and Jake Staudinger said they had heard about Shen Yun for many years and finally bought their tickets after seeing the ads for this year’s performance. Mr. Staudinger said that news that “the communist party doesn’t want people to view this kind of thing” also made him think this was “a good opportunity to go and see this,” he said of the threats made against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by people trying to shut down Shen Yun.“It’s beautiful. I loved it,” he said, noting that the threats only made them want to see Shen Yun more.
“If you show fear, you'll let them win, right?” Mr. Maddalena said.
Mr. Staudinger agreed. “You should never suppress culture, you know. It’s a shame to see something that’s potentially thousands of years old just be swept under the rug and ignored, you know, and controlled basically.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun has been banned from performing in China by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. Maddalena said the spiritual themes about salvation and freedom caught his attention. “That’s a deep topic. Some people are waiting for a particular person to save them, but people really have to help themselves,” he shared of his understanding. “And people pay a big price before they reach their salvation or their freedom. So, you know, you have to be willing to do that.”
Mr. Maddalena added that he was impressed by Shen Yun artists turning their pain of persecution by a totalitarian regime into emotion and art. Many of the performers or their family members have suffered from persecution by the regime in China.
Skill and Flexibility
Dancer Lucena Mateariki was very impressed by the skill level of Shen Yun’s dancers.“I was honestly mesmerised, especially coming from a background in ballet as well.
“I could see the similarities and the differences; it was gorgeous. It was very, very high-skilled. And the flexibility, along with the energy and the power behind it all, you could see the strength of the dancers. It was definitely art in motion,” she said.
“I really felt connected spiritually to it,” she said. “Like us beings came from heaven, and how we want to go back.”
Ms. Mateariki also commended Shen Yun’s Bel canto singers and the “beautifully, culturally-integrated” live orchestra, with its traditional Chinese instruments supported by a Western orchestra.
“The way that it was all integrated and done … especially with the singer and the other soloists, they were so amazing. I could definitely feel that there was a lot of thought put behind it, especially when reading the lyrics,” she said.
Ms. Mateariki said she was leaving the theatre feeling inspired by a message that she felt was about “freedom and life.”
Chef consultant Carmen Siqueira said she felt amazing after experiencing Shen Yun live for herself.
“It’s incredible. It’s very modern and brings the modern and the ancient music together, like the Chinese old culture. It’s very exciting and really caught my eye. I couldn’t stay one minute without looking at the dancing and the enchantment they have in their culture.”
She added that the performers’ storytelling was inspiring because they talked about freedom and were passionate for their culture.
“I feel they fight for their freedom, they fight for the way they are,” Ms. Siqueira said. “I would say they transcend that through their moves artistically. I feel … artistically inspired,” she said.
