(Minghui.org) Shen Yun Performing Arts continued its world tour by presenting a total of 41 performances in Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, New Zealand, and the United States during the week of April 10–17, 2023.
Shen Yun Global Company at The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 15. From April 6–16, the company presented 13 sold-out performances at Lincoln Center. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun Touring Company at the sold-out performance at the Eventim Apollo in London, United Kingdom, on April 14, kicking off the company’s performances in London (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun World Company at the St James Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 14. The company presented five performances in Wellington April 13–16, all to full houses (with added seats). (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun New York Company at Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine in Udine, Italy, on April 13. The company presented four sold-out performances in Udine April 12–15. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun New York Company at Teatro Verdi in Florence, Italy, on the afternoon of April 10. The company presented three performances in Florence April 9–10. Tickets were sold out one month prior to the performances. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun New World Company presented two performances at the McAllen Performing Arts Center in McAllen, Texas, on April 15, both to packed houses. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun Touring Company Arrives in London
After performing in Woking, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Oxford in January, Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to the United Kingdom to present ten performances in London April 14–22. Shen Yun Touring Company arrived in London on April 12. This is also the first year that Shen Yun has three touring companies performing in Europe simultaneously.
Shen Yun Touring Company arrived in London on April 12 and was welcomed by local fans. (NTD Television)
Principal dancer Linjie Huang with the Shen Yun Touring Company (NTD Television)
Principal dancer Linjie Huang said in an interview upon arriving in London, “We have in the performance many historic stories from different dynasties that contain moral principles from traditional Chinese culture. However, this is what the CCP does not want people to know the most right now.
“Our performance can let people know that the international community has a negative impression of the Chinese because the CCP destroyed traditional culture. But the true China before the communist party was not like this. I want to say that hopefully our programs can help change people’s notions,” Ms. Huang said.
Delaware Elected Officials Enjoy and Welcome Shen Yun in Philadelphia: “Beacon of Hope”
Delaware State Representative Michael Ramone (center) and his wife Lisa (left) at the Miller Theater in Philadelphia on April 12. Rep. Ramone presented Shen Yun’s emcee John Perry (right) with a letter of support for the company’s 2023 tour. (NTD Television)
Delaware House minority leader Rep. Michael Ramone and his wife Lisa saw Shen Yun in Philadelphia. After the performance, Rep. Ramone presented the performing arts company with a letter of support for the company’s 2023 tour.
“It was just excellent. It was very well thought out... To see where we came from—through the history of China—to where we ended at the end was just a great experience and a great education,” Rep. Ramone said. “It was a very satisfying cultural experience... Watching the show go from era to era, and through the time cycle was very insightful. You can’t miss it... You feel it in your heart and in your chest. It’s just very exciting and uplifting.”
Delaware State Representative Paul Baumbach saw Shen Yun in Philadelphia on April 13 and presented a congratulatory letter to the company. (The Epoch Times)
“It gives you warmth inside to watch it, and the skills of the performers were very inspiring. And the stories were just lovely, and the production was just magical,” said Rep. Baumbach.
“It’s that beacon of hope that the performance showed that was one of the most important things you take away from the performance,” he said.
“Please Bring it Back Every Year”
Bruce McIntyre, founder of outdoor gear brand MacPac and co-founder of Seven Oaks School, at the Shen Yun performance in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 15 (NTD Television)
Bruce McIntyre saw Shen Yun in Wellington. “Please bring it back every year,” he said. “I just think it’s brilliant... I was amazed. It was just absolutely fantastic... I was just super impressed.”
Of the performers’ efforts to revive China’s divinely-inspired culture, Mr. McIntyre said, “I think it’s just perfect. We just need some reality in our world and some connection with our soul with our spirit with the source, the Creator. We just need that, and this is just a totally connecting us to that and brings us back to what we have inside us... So it’s amazing.”
Mr. McIntyre said that he loves that Shen Yun presents a cultural experience. “It has so much meaning, and joy, and I just feel alive. I feel really grateful and I’ve seen it and experienced it,” he said.
He enjoyed all of Shen Yun’s programs, describing them as “so so good.”
“I love their energy... The aliveness and the whole energy of that sort of beautiful male energy where it can be expressed so beautifully,” he said, in describing the dances set in Tibet and Mongolia. He said he also enjoyed the female group-based dances, describing them as “very delicate.”
“They’re totally amazing,” he said in describing all of the Shen Yun dancers. “I just love the way that when they flip over, they sort of stop in mid-air for a fraction of a second. That’s the way it seems and I just think they’re incredible.”
“Not just that, but everything is incredible... The subtleness and just the whole performance... The fact that the whole thing was live music, was live dancing, and everything was working so perfectly together. That sense of oneness. It was pretty amazing,” Mr. McIntyre said.
He said he “particularly love[d]” the erhu, which Mr. McIntyre said the sound made him feel “really happy.” “It was beautiful. Maybe it’s a past life thing, but I really feel connected to that... I don’t know, this is the resonance inside which I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just beautiful. It’s just old and just lives inside me somehow,” he said.
Mr. McIntyre also praised the performances by Shen Yun’s vocalists, especially the soprano. “I think: ‘How can they come up with that amount of sound?’ There weren’t microphones. I [didn’t] see microphones and that sound [was] coming out of a woman. That’s pretty impressive,” he said.
“Shen Yun Satisfied All of My Expectations”
Mario Pittoni, head of the National League Education Department and Former Senator of the Italian Republic, at the Shen Yun performance in Udine on April 15 (NTD Television)
“This is a performance that is balanced, full of respect, and urbane. I even don’t know what words to use to express it. Because, experienced from any aspect, watching Shen Yun was a joyful and beautiful time,” said Mr. Mario Pittoni, Former Senator of the Italian Republic.
“Shen Yun is an excellent performance. The performance fascinated me. A performance that can cover ideas from five thousand years of history is truly incredible. This is what we Europeans do not have. Five thousand years ago, we Europeans were not born yet. I’m very curious. I must say, Shen Yun satisfied all of my expectations.
“Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are universal values for both the West and the East. The coexistence of (the West and East) is attributed to these values,” Mr. Pittoni said.
“It Was Absolutely Magnificent”
Benedict Rogers, British human rights activist and co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, at the Shen Yun performance in London on April 14 (NTD Television)
This was the third time that Benedict Rogers, a human rights activist and co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, had the opportunity to see Shen Yun.
“It was absolutely magnificent... The staging, the costumes, the dancing, the music, it was just extraordinary, just an amazing array of color and culture,” Mr. Rogers said.
Mr. Rogers appreciated Shen Yun’s aim to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture: “It brings the message that China as a country, and as a culture, as distinct from the Chinese Communist Party, is a great, beautiful, diverse ancient civilization and culture that has so much to offer the world.”
“It brings out the Chinese Communist Party regime’s persecution, both of Falun Dafa, but also of ancient Chinese traditions. And it brings out the values, which are not just Falun Dafa’s principles. But actually, they’re universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. So it’s a very powerful performance,” he said.
“I want to see the day when China is free. And when people can express their different spiritual, religious, political views, and where ancient Chinese culture and traditions can once again be freely celebrated.
“The narrators said tonight that of course this performance cannot be seen in China today. I hope the day will come when this performance can be celebrated in China as well as around the world,” he said.
Rogers said the spirituality woven into the performance made a big impact: “I think it’s a powerful reminder of the importance not just of our material lives, but our spiritual life, and whatever your spiritual or faith or religious belief, I think, you know, the soul matters as much as the body. And I think that’s a clear message of Shen Yun.
“It was amazing to see the theater completely sold out, completely packed, and to hear the reaction of people, you know, sitting around me at the end, everybody clearly loved it. And the fact that Shen Yun has grown into I think it’s eight companies touring the world is amazing.
“I congratulate the founders of Shen Yun for having this vision back in 2006. And for putting this together every year, over the years, and now all over the world.
“A huge congratulations to the artists. I mean, it’s clear they must have trained and worked and rehearsed so hard to produce something so spectacular. And so I really want to congratulate them on their amazing talent but also their extraordinary hard work,” he said.
“A Very Peaceful, Harmonious, and Exciting Experience”
Shai Benamo, CEO of Shopanda Ltd. and Shai Benamo LLC, at the Shen Yun performance in Tel Aviv, Israel (NTD Television)
Shai Benamo, who saw Shen Yun in Tel Aviv on April 11, said, “Very good, exciting! It was magical to see that stories could be told without using language. Exciting, the dance moves, the choreography, etc..”
“Shen Yun interwove gorgeous costumes, music, lighting, and animated backdrop and gave people a very peaceful, harmonious, and exciting experience. This is an experience not to be missed. It’s worth being highly recommended.
“We’re so small, so insignificant, but we’re connected to the universe. This is truly very beautiful and thought-provoking. I think everyone can find this connection in their heart, since we’re too small and are only flesh and blood, and have many questions but no one can answer them. What you see in Shen Yun is also closely related to our world,” he said.
“It’s Truly a Heavenly Performance”
Assi Nassim, a government advisor, at the Shen Yun performance in Tel Aviv (NTD Television)
“It’s a transcendental experience that connects the body and soul very strongly... It conveys how important it is for humans to be connected to both the earth and the heavens. It’s truly a heavenly performance,” said Assi Nassim, a government advisor who saw Shen Yun on April 10.
“All the connections between a person, his soul, and what happens in the heavens—these three circles create a celestial feeling that is felt in the performance,” he said.
He said the performance surprised him greatly and touched “very important chords in [his] soul.”
“This celestial feeling is very connected to the amazing costumes in the performance. The costumes are what connect all the circles that I talked about,” he said.
Mr. Nassim said that he felt Shen Yun’s orchestra contributed to the sense of spirituality: “It’s difficult to describe the feeling, it’s a feeling of elevation... The music envelops the entire event with a sense of warmth, showing how deep a person needs to be in their thoughts.”
The performance of the baritone bel canto vocalist particularly resonated with him. “I love opera very much. I feel very connected to it. The meaning of the words he sang is very important and very close to what I believe. It strengthens the sense of depth and belonging we seek all the time,” he said.
Mr. Nassim recommended that people see Shen Yun for themselves: “I would tell people to go because the heavenly feeling envelops everything in the show. It’s a sensation of floating above everyone and feeling everything beneath you.”
Shen Yun Is Welcomed By Local Government Officials
Prior to Shen Yun’s performances in Auckland, New Zealand, April 20–23, the company received welcome remarks from (left to right): David Seymour, Member of Parliament and leader of ACT; Maureen Pugh, Member of Parliament; Mark Cameron, Member of Parliament; and Ray Chung, Wellington City Councillor. (The Epoch Times)
Welcome letter from David Seymour, Member of Parliament (The Epoch Times)
Prior to Shen Yun’s performances in Philadelphia April 12–16, the company received welcome remarks from (left to right, top to bottom): Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania; James Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia; Lisa Blunt Rochester, U.S. Representative; Anthony H. Williams, State Senator; Mary Isaacson, State Representative; Regina G. Young, State Representative; Michael J. Ramone, Delaware State Representative; Paul Baumbach, Delaware State Representative; Marie Pinkney, Delaware State Senator; Darrell L. Clarke, President of Philadelphia City Council; and Mark Squilla, member of Philadelphia City Council. (The Epoch Times)
Prior to Shen Yun’s performance in Athens, Georgia, on April 11, the company received a proclamation from Kelly Girtz, Athens-Clarke County Mayor. (NTD Television)
Prior to Shen Yun’s evening performance at New York’s Lincoln Center on April 13, a representative for Kevan Abrahams, Nassau County Legislator, presented a certificate of recognition to the performing arts company in person.
Upcoming Performances
Shen Yun continues its 2023 tour with upcoming performances in Purchase, New York, April 22–23; Rosemont, Illinois, April 22–23; San Diego, California, April 22–23; Birmingham (USA), Alabama, April 22; London, United Kingdom, April 22; Torino, Italy, April 22–23; Tours, France, April 24–25; and Auckland, New Zealand, April 22–23.
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