BASEL, Switzerland—People from Germany and France joined the audience at Musical Theater Basel to enjoy Shen Yun Performing Arts from March 22-24.
“I felt entertained from the first second to the last. I was also surprised at the amount of emotion that comes across here ... you can feel the passion in every person, you can feel the inner commitment,” said Bo Katzman, a successful musician and singer.
Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.
“The artists not only danced perfectly, they were also really expressive with their facial expressions,” said Mr. Katzman.
Mr. Katzman was particularly impressed with Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop.
“The music was wonderful, the costumes were magical and also this technique where people disappear for a moment and then reappear on the screen, that’s terrific,” he said.
Shen Yun’s orchestra combines traditional Chinese instruments and a classic Western ensemble.
Mr. Katzman was impressed by the “wonderful mix” in the orchestra. He also found it remarkable that the music was composed specifically for each dance.
He was also fascinated by the two-stringed erhu solo.
“The way she played it was fantastic. I really, really liked that,” said Mr. Katzman.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, which includes the values that were once essential to Chinese society.
Mr. Katzman saw these values in Shen Yun’s dance stories.
“The moral of the stories was always loving, and I think that’s beautiful. ... Every path in life is a path towards love because there is no other destination,” he said.
An important contributor to society, Zurich cantonal councilor Hans Egli, attended the afternoon performance of Shen Yun with his granddaughter on March 23.
Shen Yun presents a China before communism to audiences around the world, and because of this, Shen Yun is unable to perform in China.
“Where the state is simply the supreme power, and the individual has no value, that is not a valuable society,” said Mr. Egli.
One of Shen Yun’s dance stories depicts the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. One of the biggest crimes against humanity of the 21st century is the Chinese Communist Party’s harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners for profit.
“If you don’t go along with the system and question it, you’re basically half an enemy of the state,” said Mr. Egli.
He added that this ability to raise awareness of the CCP’s crimes alone makes Shen Yun’s performance worth it.
“That alone makes it worth training and being on stage to show this performance,” emphasized Mr. Egli.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
