MELBOURNE, Australia—Stepping out of the Plenary Theatre following Shen Yun Performing Arts’ final matinee on March 15, Whitehorse City Councilor Hayley Weller felt herself wrapped in a cocoon of bliss.
“I feel very light and calm at the moment and uplifted, which is exactly what I expected feeling after this show,” Ms. Weller said happily.
“That screen added another dimension to the performance,” she said. “It really brought out and enhanced the stories. Everything just synced together so beautifully. … I just, I loved how the screen worked in with the stage. It was very impressive and unexpected.”
“By extending the stage to infinite realms,” the Shen Yun website notes, this patented 3D invention brings to the audience “storytelling without limits.”
The New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.
One particularly memorable piece for Ms. Weller was the story-based dance that transported the audience to present-day China, conveying the message that when people uphold traditional moral values and treat each other with kindness, the divine will aid them in times of trouble.
“It was a beautiful framing of the whole show. The heavenly element was just striking, and it brought a lot of meaning to all the stories and history that followed,” she said.
The rendering of the heavenly realms “was stunning. Amazing. A beautiful depiction of the universe.”
When asked what’s her takeaway message from Shen Yun, Ms. Weller answered resolutely: “Love. Everything comes back to love.”
“The way we treat each other, caring and [being] compassionate, understanding of where we are in this world—is critical,” she explained.
“There is a lot of upheaval and uncertainty in the world, and just living those values, we don’t have to accept what’s happening. We can forge our own paths of compassion as an individual.”
“I thoroughly loved the performance and want to congratulate everyone who’s involved in all their parts,” she shared, “because we know it’s not just the performers who make this happen. It’s everyone else who’s behind the scenes as well.”
