BORDEAUX, France—A culture that was once lost is being revived around the world by Shen Yun Performing Arts. Philippe Dautais, a retired priest, expressed his gratitude for being able to see Chinese culture presented so beautifully.
“I think the show is magnificent, and I’m amazed by the beauty of it. It’s magnificent to give voice to the Chinese culture that shines through, the spirituality, too,” he said.
“I think we Westerners are lucky to have access to a splendid culture, with a wealth of myths, stories, and Confucianism and Taoism. In other words, the relationship between heaven and earth, between yin and yang,” Mr. Dautais said.
China was once known as the land of the divine. However, the current Chinese regime has destroyed its spirituality and has replaced all beliefs with atheist ideology.
“What I feel is that spirituality and the divine applies to every human being, and that today, the theory of evolution and atheism are deceptions, and I totally agree with that,” Mr. Dautais shared.
“It’s a great source of hope because today we’re trapped in materialism, but the human race cannot be reduced to money, or consumption, or consumerism. Human beings have noble values, and that shines through in the show,” he said.
Serge Wilkins is a teacher who also used to dance. He was particularly impressed with the costumes in Shen Yun.
Shen Yun’s costumes are all handmade and tailored to fit each individual dancer. The designs are inspired by the attire worn in the heavens.
“I found it very beautiful. It’s good to see color again. Because in the West, we’re now moving towards modernism where we’re streamlining costumes, so it’s good to see how things used to be,” he said.
“I was a dancer in the past, a very long time ago, so I understand the discipline, the effort it takes, and I find it very impressive and really top-notch. I really enjoyed it. It was fabulous,” Mr. Wilkins said.
Mr. Wilkins also shared that Shen Yun gave him “a feeling of well-being. Because it also includes all the benevolence we sometimes forget in the modern world. On the contrary, it’s good to get back to those sources.”
Véronique Laporte, an executive, shared that she came to see Shen Yun to understand Chinese culture.
“It was an absolutely extraordinary show, very beautiful, magnificent. Very pretty spins, and we learned even more about traditional Chinese history. It’s very, very good, it’s perfect, I loved it! I'd advise everyone to come see it,” said Ms. Laporte.
Ms. Laporte found herself immersed in the performance.
“Intense emotion, lots of energy. You can feel it, you want to take part, to soar with the dancers, to sing along with the singers, absolutely—and even to be, why not, a musician. It’s really beautiful, really,” she said.
