LYON, France—From Saturday, Feb. 4 until Thursday, Feb. 9, Shen Yun Performing Arts is taking the stage at the Amphitheatre 3000 in the city of Lyon with a brand new program featuring characters from Chinese myths and literature or paying tribute to the many ethnic groups of the Middle Kingdom, to the dynasties that succeeded one another for 5,000 years in Chinese civilization.
On Sunday evening, Feb. 5, Tristan and Mireille Claudel enjoyed New York-based Shen Yun, and the mother and son gave their impressions.
“Very colorful, with beautiful, beautiful performances,” said Mr. Claudel, a former director of a school, who changed his path to become a company manager.
“I think there’s a lot of silk ... The colors and the artistic technique of the artists are beautiful! The big splits, the windmills, the leaps are great,” Ms. Claudel said, referring to Shen Yun’s dancers technique and costumes, made with many details and keeping as closely as possible to ancient prints and paintings.
Classical Chinese dance, the basis of Shen Yun, is one of the most complete dance systems in the world, as it has been enriched over 5,000 years of dynasties. In addition to the basic postures and movements, a multitude of jumps, leaps, and twists are part of the training, bringing grace and athleticism to the dance.
Ms. Claudel “greatly appreciated the spiritual aspect of the show,” specifying she could feel this connection to the Divine.
Indeed, the show pays tribute to the ancient Chinese who believed that their culture was inspired by the Divine. “People aimed for harmony between Heaven, Earth, and humankind, praised the Divine and respected the principles of nature,” says the show’s presentation booklet. Shen Yun artists carry on this ancient tradition by meditating and elevating their morality and their spirit.
Mr. Claudel said, “beauty calls for spirituality, for connecting with oneself.”
“And the show is very beautiful, whether it is the artistic aspect, the costumes, the singing, the music,” he said. “It’s all very moving and allowing you to reconnect with yourself ... during the show.”
“Everyone runs after time and ... these elements remind us, in our daily lives, of the simple, fundamental things,” he said.
“We have faith in money, we have faith in the ‘always more’, the gain. But it is not that which will save the world, help the world, but faith in something much higher, Divine. Let’s not be afraid of words,” she said.
Her son added: “It is good to revive these values ... And to reaffirm them in this Western world when we have forgotten these values ... It is good to remember them and to apply them again in our daily lives.”
“In some dances, especially the Mongolian dance or the male classical dance, we can actually feel a lot of this energy, which is then balanced with the female dance,” she said. “We didn’t talk about yin and yang, but I think these two notions are well highlighted in the show. And the softness ... I don’t remember how ... There is a sentence from Lao Tzu that speaks of softness and strength.”
“I won’t be able to translate the words exactly, but you feel them when you see the show. Indeed, these are words that are visually perceptible by the audience,” she said. “There you go, so thank you for that!”
