AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Winston Peters, leader of the NZ First political party who formerly served as deputy prime minister of New Zealand twice, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on April 20.
“First class, top rate,” he said, “everyone was faultless and that is not easy to see in a show.”
“This was a very excellent example of thousands of years of Chinese history and drama … a marvelous imaging and portraying of a critical part of the history of this world,” he said.Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern-day.
Since 2006, Shen Yun has performed at top theaters worldwide with a mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture. However, Shen Yun is still banned from performing in China.
Mr. Peters said Shen Yun presents “the alternative view of China,” and that the “autocracies and dictatorships cannot stand contrast.”
“Freedom is about choice and that is the problem [t]here.”
After watching the performance, Mr. Peters said, “the view that Chinese are atheists is renounced and disposed of by this show because so many are not, they are believers.”
He said he was impressed with the audience turnout and was pleased to have finally seen the performance.
Shen Yun had five shows in Wellington this year, all of which were sold out.
“[Y]ou can not do better than that,” he said.
