Chile: Shen Yun Presents Authentic Chinese Culture in Santiago
Shen Yun Performing Arts won warm applause from the audience in Teatro Teleton at the end of its second show in Chile. The sophisticated, colorful costumes and the creative choreography brought the benevolent and beautiful divinely-inspired Chinese culture to the people of Chile. The performance made the Chinese in the audience proud as well.
Mr. Ke Jisheng, Director of the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Chile, and his wife attended the Shen Yun performance. Mr. Ke agreed with the ideas presented in the show-- promoting kindness and righteousness conquers evil. He admired Shen Yun for promoting Chinese culture in western society.
Mrs. Ke liked the dances in The Mystical Phoenix, Welcoming Spring, and Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope. "I could feel the strong belief of Falun Gong practitioners from the dances. It tells me that righteousness conquers evil and good deeds will be rewarded."
Chinese Businessman: Magnificent Work to Bring Chinese Culture to the World
Ms. Guo said, "The artists did a terrific job. They are very professional." She loved the Tibetan dance as well as Lady of the Moon, Drummers of the Tang Court, and Welcoming Spring. "I am proud of being a Chinese. I feel it's such a great nation in the world."
Ms. Guo's husband Humberto is from Chile. Humberto enjoyed the art and learned about Chinese culture at the same time. "It's very interesting and unbelievably good. I learned a lot. There was great coordination between artists in every program. Magnificent!"
Humberto was sad after watching the program Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution. "It shows an abnormal situation in China. (The practitioners) try to correct the situation. The most important thing to a life is to be able to endure and to be open-minded."
Chinese Couple: Brilliant
Mr. Wang came with his wife and two daughters. He liked the masculine acting from the male dancers. Mr. Wang's wife loved Mongolian Chopsticks, Drummers of the Tang Court, and Welcoming Spring. "Marvelous!" she said. "They are brilliant. They can turn something long into fans and circular flowers."
Mrs. Wang had been paying attention to the reviews of Shen Yun's performance on Youtube. When she learned that Shen Yun was coming to Chile, she booked the tickets without hesitation.
Xiaojun just graduated from college majoring in public management. She was in love with all the programs, "I especially like the costumes of the women dancers. The colors were amazing." Xiaojuns' sister Yiling added, "I can't describe how much I love it."
Violinist: Noticeable Chinese Culture
Professor of music, Mr. Alvarez, teaches violin at a grammar school. Mr. Alvarez said the show was wonderful. "Pretty, the radiance, the music, the synchronization of the ... dancers with very precise movements, and the messages that they deliver are very clear. All the ideas, for example the spring, [Welcoming Spring] all the effects that relate to flowers ... the percussionists, indeed a very pretty show, the prettiest."
Mr. Alvarez found the piece Mongolian Chopsticks very joyful and friendly. Another piece with a powerful message he said was Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution, in which a father is persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional spiritual discipline. The idea that good people are ultimately rewarded is beautiful. I like it!"
Mr. Alvarez particularly liked the singing in the show, "Very professional, especially the soprano's performance! It was brilliant that a person could have such a resonant voice."
Mr. Alvarez said that he would share this show with his students because "They present another culture that is different from ours, a philosophy and a way of thinking that is very different from ours."
Martial Artists: Every Program is Outstanding
Martial Arts instructor for more than 35 years, Mr. Jara, said the show was spectacular. "Very beautiful," he said during intermission. "From a more technical eye [I liked] the part of coordination, the performances we have seen so far are excellent."
Mr. Jara said he was attracted to the Chinese artistry because of his origins in martial arts--his practice has its roots in China. "So far I realize this is very close to what I was saying about Chinese and Eastern countries' ancient culture," he said.
Mr. Jara is referring to a modern-day story of the persecution of the spiritual practice, Falun Gong in China. A father is persecuted for practicing Falun Gong, causing a family to be broken forever, yet hope shines through with the longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.
"Every program is outstanding, especially the matching of the colors and the coordination between artists. The stage setup was perfect. It's hard to say which program is the best."
Mr. Jara eventually picked one program that was most impressive to him, "Especially the performance of the modern family (Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution), where they search to connect [with their origin] again ... and because of the regime ruling in their place of birth, they can't achieve it." "That caught my attention," Mr. Jara said. "Because here in Chile there are also many people who try to search the origin, the root, and for several reasons it can't be done."
Sales Executive: Proud of Having Chinese Ancestry
Mr. Sergio Castillo, an executive of sales, and Ms. Marcela Suzarte were among the enthusiastic crowd watching the show. Mr. Castillo is one-fourth Chinese. His friend introduced the show to him after seeing the previous show. Mr. Castillo's favorite part was the coordination among artists. "Crisp!" he said.
The Shen Yun performance helped Mr. Castillo see what traditional China looks like in a short two hours' time. The marvelous culture made him proud of his Chinese ancestry. "When the host talked about the variety in Chinese culture, I have a picture in my head the vast land of China. However, we also see what is happening in China."
Ms. Suzarte is a former civil servant with the Air Force and is now retired. "Wonderful! The colors are gorgeous, everything is pretty, pretty, the music, and all is wonderful," said Ms. Suzarte, noting that she loved the whole show.
"All the discipline, and the synchronization I found to be wonderful," Ms. Suzarte said, adding that the show was "excellent."
Business Owner: Spectacular!
Mr. Manuel Romero is an owner of a company that supplies mining industry equipment. "Spectacular," said Mr. Romero. "The truth is [the show] has been very moving, I am very pleased I attended the performance."
"We men are, of course, more interested in male dances, like that of the warrior, of the people who look for some ideals, and that has impressed me--the bravery that the male performers portrayed in all their dances."
