On Jan. 14 and 15, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was in the city of Oxford, a temple of arts and culture in Britain and Europe. Among the audience members were prominent figures from British academia and the business community.
“The choreography is so beautifully worked out. The synchronization is wonderful,” said Susan Daenke, a scientist from the University of Oxford who was a ballerina when she was young. “The style of dancing is very different to classical ballet that I am familiar with, but I admire the way they are so graceful.”
“It’s absolutely fantastic. The dancing is really impressive. The orchestra also. Absolutely amazing. The sound is just incredible,” said Juliette Verdejo, head of a UK science laboratory. “The colors, the energy, the grace with everybody on stage. The storytelling was just incredible.”
“It was amazing to see how many people, how many different kinds of people there were in the audience, all enjoying it,” Sarah Henderson, founder and creative director of Yolkdesign, said. “I’ve never seen singers as we saw today, which I didn’t expect. And the orchestra and the dances were all phenomenal.”
“It was amazing. I loved every second of it,” said Luke Brason, who is group account director of Law Creative in the UK. “I love the diversity from the singing, the dancing, the mix of the stories. The classic and then also the modern placings of some of the stories as well. It was fantastic.”
Message of Hope
Through classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun artists are bringing on stage the legacy of traditional Chinese culture that preceded communism.
“It’s amazing. Actually, [it] was beyond expectations,” project manager Marius Niculae said. “The energy that the dancers actually transmitted is very, very powerful. It gets through your body.”
Mr. Niculae echoed the message behind the dances and music. “It raises the awareness that even if we live in the 20th century, there are still persecutions going on around the world. It was a relief to see that people actually get comfort out of spiritual beliefs. … It’s a very materialistic world, and without spiritual beliefs, we cannot get comfort after this life passes.”
Mr. Brason said the underlying message of hope really stood out to him.
There is a “common kind of thread that we’re all humans. And the stories of love, the sadness, the trials, the challenges all the way through all the different stories,” he added. “And that human determinations overcome adversity. I cried many times actually in several of the stories.”
‘Why We Are Here’
Company owner Chris Mills was also impressed by the values that Shen Yun present, “They spoke quite a lot about compassion, hope, and things like that. So I thought that was really nice.”
“I enjoy the points it spoke about how Satan is lurking behind missing information in atheism and evolution. I enjoyed that point very much. Now we are under a lot of pressure from society. And I think a lot of people are looking for answers to why we see a lot of problems in the world. A lot of people look to perhaps material, physical things to help get us out of the situations. So it’s nice to see something that is promoting a spiritual perspective and how we can perhaps look to a higher source, a higher power for wisdom and advice.”
He shared his takeaway from the performance.
“Just consider more about why we are here, how we got here, whether we were created. And if there’s a higher power, what does He want from us, or need from us, how we should be living our lives to make Him happy. So I would hope someone would come away with the spiritual thought, even if it’s just a small thought.”
For the rest of January, Shen Yun will make stops in California, Missouri, and other U.S. states, as well as countries in Europe and Asia.
NTD News, Oxford, UK
