Shen Yun Debuts in Bruges

BRUGES, Belgium—Although Shen Yun (formerly known as Divine Performing Arts) had been to Belgium for three prior seasons, today was the first show of Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company in Bruges. The Concertgebouw Brugge, known for its good acoustics, was the venue for the world-premier show. Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.

Among the audience was Marc Hillewaere and his colleagues Anne van Holme and Aki Bollengier. All work for the Flemish Opera which operates in two different opera houses, namely Antwerpen and Ghent. Mr. Hillewaere is head of customer care for the Flemish Opera.

All three liked the show very much. “It is amazing, it's a very good story, a very beautiful performance, good dancers. It's a very beautiful stage,” Mr. Hillewaere said. He had received an invitation to the show and looked it up in the internet before accepting.

“They are good dancers, also the singer—the soprano is very amazing. They are really professional, you can see this in their dancing, in their movements, they are all really good. And the orchestra of course–it´s just amazing, we will invite some friends to see it, it is really worth seeing,” he said.

What stuck in his mind was the scene “with the tiger [Wu Song Battles the Tiger]. It was expressive, I liked it. The whole show is a cultural enrichment for us.”

In the favorite Chinese novel, Outlaws of the Marsh, a man eating tiger plagues an outlying village, but only Wu Song finds the courage to hunt and kill the beast, however, not before he downs three bowls of potent wine.

With reporting by Alexander Hamrle.

Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company is one of three New York-based companies on its 2010 World Tour. Frankfurt in Germany is the next stop, March 12-14.

  For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org