‘So much grace and beauty’ Says Teacher

CLERMONT-FERRAND, France—Eliane Lhoste and Joel Rochon were among the spectators at the Shen Yun Performing Arts show on Wednesday, March 9.

"It's dazzling. So much grace and beauty," Ms. Lhoste said, as the two teachers of foreign languages were leaving the show.

"I am very happy to have come to see this show, because I just came back from China so I felt that my journey was just continuing," said Ms. Lhoste. "I found it really very interesting, both from the technical point of view and from the costumes—it's beautiful."

Among the many scenes, Ms. Lhoste was particularly fond of Plum Blossom, and Herding on the Grasslands. "The orchestra was superb, the blend of Western and Oriental instruments is very successful."

Ms. Lhoste also emphasized the educational aspect of the presentation. "The hosts explained a lot about ancient China and China now," thus allowing better understanding of the different scenes. Ms. Lhoste also noticed "the sense of the collective" in the performances.

In a Western show, "at the end of the show we would have presented one, two or three dancers in solo, but there is no such thing here, it is everybody together."

For Joel Rochon, it was all about the "enormous grace" and precision in Shen Yun. "What struck me was the precision of movements, the dancing was so very graceful, very young women working so hard with their arms … ."

In the last scene of The Opening of Heaven's Gates "I really enjoyed the boy in the orange shirt who was very expressive, his face lit up as if he were really living something."

The backdrops also fascinated Mr. Rochon, especially "the scenes on the backdrops with little fairies in the sky." "Here it was life, life in the countryside, in the city … it makes for a beautiful set," he said.

Mr. Rochon's attention focused on the lighting. "It was the same lighting for all the dancers, no individual spotlights" although "from time to time, we felt there was one dancing alone, but we also felt that it was a group effort."

We have a "very strong feeling that the Chinese soul has been well depicted and that the producer of the show loves his country tremendously, we feel he has a love for his country, it's amazing!" concluded Ms. Lhoste.

Reporting by Hanna Szmytko.