SYDNEY, Australia—Kalvin Biag, a local business owner and who was a Liberal Party candidate for Prospect, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Sydney Lyric on March 27, said that, as with previous performances, “it’s always fantastic.”
“It’s very good to stand up to communism and fight for freedom wherever we see it, and it’s very clear that classical Chinese art is so beautiful,” he said.
“The performers here—the musicians, the singers—they’re all a part of classical China and China’s story. Having people hinder that and suppress that is not right … So, it’s beautiful to see freedom here at Shen Yun.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled persecution of their faith by the ruling communist party in China.
For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs have been repressed and almost erased, and replaced with atheism.
The artists’ mission is to return to the world’s stage the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture, or “China before communism.”
Mr. Biag particularly enjoyed Shen Yun’s ethnic and classical Chinese dances, especially the piece featuring women dancing in long sleeves that billowed and flowed like the gentle movement of water on stage.
According to the company’s website, the “water sleeves” were a part of ancient Chinese feminine attire representing humility and grace.
“The Mongolian dances were absolutely beautiful. I think that was fantastic,” he shared. “Also, seeing the water dancers—the beautiful sleeves, seeing the fabric fly into the air—it’s amazing. It truly is amazing, it’s beautiful.”
“You have a sense of tranquility when watching it and also a very strong pride in the value of freedom. I think that’s very important as well,” he said.
Addressing fake threats made against the Australian prime minister and the theatre by Chinese communist agents in attempts to disrupt Shen Yun’s performances, Mr. Biag emphasized the importance of safeguarding Australia’s national values.
“Australia is the home of freedom, we need to make that very clear,” he said. “To see foreign interests threaten Australia, threaten any political representative, is utterly disgusting. That’s not how we do politics here in Australia, so it’s very important that we’re focusing on freedom, making it very clear to those right across the world that you are free to express yourself in Australia.
“We will have Shen Yun and the Falun Dafa community any day to express themselves, because freedom is the value that underpins Australia, and we’re more than happy to have the Shen Yun community and Falun Dafa community right here in Sydney. It’s fantastic.”
This season, Shen Yun’s eight touring companies are bringing their stunning performances to over 200 cities worldwide. With a brand-new program each year, the company’s 20th anniversary marks another season full of fresh surprises for both first-time and returning audiences alike.
