PARIS, France—Financial director Karine Havas and her husband Fred, a sports club manager, attended Shen Yun’s evening show on Feb. 27. It was the first of the company’s seven consecutive shows at the Palais des Congres de Paris.
Mrs. Havas said Shen Yun was a very special experience because walking in, “You don’t expect to see so many programs all representing a different period in Chinese history.”
“Yet, there is also a deep message you can understand—one that I hadn’t expected before the show. I didn’t think it would be so powerful—full of meaning and beauty.”
“There was a message of the artists’ desire to pass on the richness of China’s history. It was, for us, a very beautiful discovery.”
The couple loved Shen Yun’s music.
During the show, Shen Yun’s bilingual hosts provided an introduction to Chinese music, highlighting an interesting linguistic connection.
They explained that in the Chinese language, ’medicine‘ and ’music’ share the same character but with different pronunciations. In fact, music is considered one of the earliest forms of medicine in the world.
Mrs. Havas couldn’t agree more.
“You can really feel it when you come out of the show. It’s like you’re filled with poetry—just like what [Mr. Havas] was talking about,” she said.
“The different instruments, they are complementary. In Europe, we’re not used to hearing these different instruments together, and it’s really well done.”
According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments.
Reflecting on Shen Yun artists’ mission to bring back traditional culture, Mrs. Havas said the values of “truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance” resonated very clearly throughout the performance.
“It’s clear—you can feel it. There was courage, too,” she said.
