Restaurateurs’ Daughter Enjoys Speaking Mandarin at Shen Yun
Feb 04, 2024
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Irina and Peter Newman and their daughter Angelina attended Shen Yun Performing Arts in London, in the U.K., on Feb. 4, 2024. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
LONDON, U.K.—Shen Yun Performing Arts gave a stirring performance at London’s Eventim Apollo on Feb. 4.
Restaurateurs Peter and Irina Newman and their daughter Angelina made the decision to see a Shen Yun performance on the spur of the moment. “We’ve been in the shopping center and we saw your [ad] and we decided to come. Because also we heard a lot about your talented dancers, and it was worth it to come,” Mrs. Newman said. “It was a fantastic show. It’s quite totally interesting and totally different from what we saw before.”
Daughter Angelina was eager to see Shen Yun because one of the hosts spoke Mandarin. “I do Mandarin class in my school,” she said. “And I would really like to see the show.” When asked to say a few words, she said, “’Ni hao ma?” (How are you?) and was able to translate xie xie (thank you).
Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun is sharing with the world the beauty of China’s 5,000 years of history. Since its founding in 2006, the company has received accolades from all over the world for its mission to revive traditional Chinese culture.
Mr. Newman, who owns the Michelin-starred restaurant Ortolan, said, “It was very interesting; the dancing was amazing, and the choreography was superb. The tenor was very, very beautiful.”
Mrs. Newman took notice of the Chinese two-stringed instrument called the erhu. “I can say we’ve been impressed by the national instrument.”
She encouraged the performers to “come as often as possible to come to the UK”
Family Says Shen Yun is Different From Anything They’ve Ever Seen
Angelika Zaczeniuk, a photographer, and her husband, Kris Bandurski, an IT and engineering manager, brought their children to the Eventim Apollo in London. They said they very much enjoyed Shen Yun’s performance.
“The kids were very engaged, to our surprise, because normally they get a little bored, but they actually didn’t want the show to stop. So they liked it a lot. And I guess so did we,” said Mr. Bandurski said.
He said they had never seen anything like this before. “So, yes, we are very happy.”
Angelika Zaczeniuk and her husband Kris Bandurski brought their children to a performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Eventim Apollo in London on Feb. 4, 2024. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
Ms. Zaczeniuk said, “I just think it’s like perfection. The family has seen other shows, but this was different. “Usually, you can just stare at one of the artists, and the rest are in the background. But here, all of them, they were just absolutely amazing, which was really surprising.”
She appreciated the Shen Yun orchestra, especially the violin section, as one of their children plays the violin. “So the orchestra was really magnificent for us. We really liked that.”
Ms. Zaczeniuk took in each moment, especially as the performers worked with the animated backdrop. “I’ve never seen something like this, and it was, really, the perfection of the moment when the actors actually jumped in on the scene, which is like a magnetism. It was for us a fairy tale.”
Ms. Zaczeniuk, who specializes in fine art, baby models, and portrait photography, appreciated the visuals of each scene. “For me, it’s really colorful, which was really nice. I’m just underlining perfection all the time, and the perfection of it was just magnificent.”
She said she'd heard that Shen Yun is reviving the traditional China that existed before communism and wanted to learn more. “It’s amazing. I actually bought the book to learn a little bit more as well. I put it in my backpack,” she said, referring to the main teachings of Falun Dafa, the spiritual belief practiced by the performers and which is brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.
She said they would discuss the persecution of Falun Gong that is happening now in China so the children understand. “I’m going to explain to her why it was like that and what’s happening here, and it’s really nice to understand what the culture is, as well.”
Although the family is agnostic, they are looking into meditation and spiritual connection. She said Shen Yun “changed me and opened my eyes, as well. So that’s why we want to learn about it some more, and that’s why we bought the book, as well.”
With shows scheduled in over 200 cities and across five continents, the 2024 touring season is shaping up to be the artists’ busiest yet.
