Audience members who watched Shen Yun Performing Arts in Rome on March 19 said they were touched by the spirituality of the performance and the divinity of Chinese culture.
“I found this spirituality very important, it has been transmitted, it could be highly felt and it was very touching,” said Daniela Traldi, president of the Italian Confederation of Associations and Foundations for Lyric and Symphonic Music.
“The thing that struck me the most was that the show talks and touches the soul,” said Manuela Traldi, an international human rights lawyer and the president of the Italian–Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce.
“Moreover, we feel that there is a message that it is trying to get across, and it gets across. Well, precisely fraternity, love, spirituality and hope. And all that is obviously the divine that brings it to us,” said French princess and pianist Caroline Murat, who founded the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad music festival.
“There is an invitation to find the purpose of life,” said Romana Sironi, an art collector and owner of an art gallery. “In every story, the moral was that the good triumphs.”
Rome is home to some of the greatest works of European of art, so maybe it’s no surprise that many audience members commented on Shen Yun’s handmade costumes, its 30-foot tall interactive backdrop, and the grace of its dancers.
“The images in the show reminded me of the beauty of the Chinese paintings,” said Claudio Strinati, an art historian and critic and the former superintendent of the museums of Rome. “It was like seeing the ancient Chinese paintings, sculptures that move and come to life. And this was beautiful for me: life and art together.”
“I think it’s a total performance in the sense of special effects, in the sense of ballet, of the ability, of the great ability to dance, in the colors, in the scenography, in the music,” said Don Giovanni Aldobrandini, a professor of history and political science at Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli. “So we can really say it’s a feast for the eyes. It’s a show that we cannot define in one sentence, in one category.”
“Congratulations on everything: the dancers, the organization, the professionalism, the marvelous costumes, the colors, the costumes’ colors were marvelous,” said actress Anita Auer. “Really, [it was] a dream. Great poetry. It would have been a regret if I had missed it.”
“The choreography is extraordinary, the artists are unbelievably skilled, the music is very delightful—the show gives you great satisfaction,” said Giancarlo Magalli, an Italian TV host and actor.
“It’s a marvelous show, the dancers are extraordinary, the costumes are beautiful and [it has] a marvelous atmosphere,” said actress and model Nathalie Caldonazzo. “They are perfectly synchronized and it’s a celebration for the eyes, truly magical, beautiful.”
“It’s wonderful. You bring us a lot in this performance—enormous,” said Murat. “Apart from the perfection, of course, of the artists, of the staging, of the choreography.”
“The elegance of the female dancers, the style and also the colors—these vibrant colors predispose the soul to the divine, to joy,” said opera singer Sergio Panajia.
“In my opinion, the orchestra was excellent,” said Leonardo De Amicis, a conductor and composer. “I liked the synchronism between the dancing and the music. The music was well written, I liked it, very much.”
Shen Yun has finished performing in Rome, but is set to perform in Florence and Milan in April.
