MELBOURNE, Australia—Dr. Rachel Carling-Jenkins, member of the Legislative Council in Victorian State Parliament, [R in photo] and her electorate officer, Mirjana Marevic, were not sure what they would experience but were excited to experience opening night of Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at the Regent Theatre on March 24. They were not disappointed.
“Tonight’s performance was absolutely amazing, I was blown away by not just the talent, but the messaging behind the performance. It was so powerful,” Dr. Carling-Jenkins said.
“The dancing was absolutely gorgeous. This is the best performance I have quite honestly ever seen.”
Based in New York Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture which was brought to the brink of extinction under communism.
“I found sometimes I was crying, sometimes I was laughing, I felt a real empathy, I really felt drawn in to what the actors and the dancers were communicating. So I found it quite an emotional rollercoaster in some ways, but I really enjoyed that.”
On hearing that Shen Yun can be translated as divine beings dancing Dr. Carling-Jenkins said, “I felt that the dancers did great justice to divine beings tonight. They really drew me in and I was greatly impacted by their performance.”
Shen Yun uses mini-drama pieces with stories extolling many moral values and giving the audience a glimpse of 5000 years of myths and legends. The website states that “Every dance embodies traditional Chinese values. Ideals of loyalty, filial piety, and veneration for the divine are cherished and celebrated. Heroes are extolled for their compassion and tolerance as much as their courage or determination when facing adversity.”
Dr. Carling-Jenkins appreciated seeing these virtues displayed on stage.
“There were some really strong moral values displayed in tonight’s performance, so we saw good and we saw evil, and that was very well portrayed. I think that I was really drawn into what the message was, I was really drawn into what the performers were trying to get across. And you know, I cried with them, I laughed with them, and I really understood and felt that struggle alongside them.”
As an elected official, she felt that the experience of Shen Yun has much to offer everyone and especially our politicians across Australia.
“If any politician in Australia that has the opportunity to come—you absolutely should. You will learn so much from this performance, and I believe that you particularly, people in areas of influence, so all the Australian senators should absolutely be coming to this performance.”
In conclusion she added, “If you have the opportunity to come [and see Shen Yun], you absolutely should. It was the most amazing performance I’ve ever seen.”
Reporting by Leigh Smith
With five touring companies performing simultaneously around the world, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts aims to revive China’s nearly lost traditional performing arts and time-honored values.
The Epoch Times, considering Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time, has proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
