GOLD COAST, Australia—Distillery owner Paul Sowter said Shen Yun Performing Arts is “absolutely critical” for society when he attended a full-house performance at HOTA on Saturday night.
Mr. Sowter said that in addition to joyful displays of classical Chinese and ethnic dance, Shen Yun’s story-based pieces give life to legendary figures and spotlight the tyranny of communist rule in modern-day China.
“I loved it. I thought it was really cleverly done,” he said.
This is something Mr. Sowter praised Shen Yun for handling well.
Mr. Sowter, who described himself as a Christian, said he was struck by a “really nice salvation message” in the performance, which he appreciated seeing from “the Falun Gong perspective.”
He said that the CCP had done “wicked” things since seizing power in 1949, which resulted in the deaths of “millions.”
The business owner expressed relief about Shen Yun’s mission to revive China’s authentic culture, saying that the performances “actually breathe life” back into the traditional culture, without which, “it may have died.”
“The mission is important,” he said, cheering on Shen Yun’s eight companies that tour the world simultaneously with a live orchestra.
Mr. Sowter aptly noted that, with respect to the number of companies simultaneously touring and its high quality, Shen Yun’s mission might be seen as a “threat” to the “totalitarian” communist regime
Mr. Sowter noted that the “human spirit is very hard to crush.” Pointing to history, he said that Christianity and Judaism serve as examples of faith groups persevering despite attempts to “suppress” them.
“Systems break over time,” he noted.
‘Amazing’
Kasey Runge, a model, said that everyone should experience Shen Yun after she attended the performance at HOTA.The model was struck by the dance piece titled “Sleeves of Grace,” which depicts ladies gently dancing with long, flowing “water sleeves,” according to the program.
“The long sleeves, very pretty,” Ms. Runge said.
“The training and the technique they have to do with pulling out the sleeves and letting them go and pulling them back in. Especially the way that the sleeves came back in through with their arms, it was very impressive,” she said.
“I think they have a very strong message as well with some of the pieces that they do, and the amount of training that they would have to go through as well, it’s just incredible. They’ve got really great technique; they’re just very good performers and very entertaining,” she said.
Ms. Runge expressed amazement at the skills of the dancers, remarking on “the jumps and the turns.”
“I think that’s a very creative aspect that they have. And it’s very different from other shows as well,” she said.
‘So Graceful’
Dr. Chamica Gunawardena attended Shen Yun for the first time with members of her family, having bought the tickets for her daughter.“They’re so graceful. It’s just a very different style of dancing. I was thinking, even the music, it’s absolutely amazing,” said Dr. Gunawardena, who works as an endocrinologist.
Shen Yun states on its website that its orchestra is the first to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments.
Dr. Gunawardena said her husband was pleasantly surprised by the performance, which she described as “quirky, it’s funny, the kids had a blast.”
The performance was an “eye-opener” in that way, she said.
Dr. Gunawardena, who is originally from Sri Lanka, resonated with Shen Yun’s depictions of myths, and said people should “definitely” experience the performance.
“It is unbelievable,” she said.
