Franz Josef Bayer and Sieglinde Acs Bayer at Shen Yun Performing Arts in Vienna. (Wendy Jiang/The Epoch Times)VIENNA—Retired musician, dancer and actor, Franz Josef Bayer attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s exhilarating classical Chinese dance and music show, held at the Wiener Stadthalle on May 4.
“I can only say that [ShenYun] was beyond belief. I’m fascinated, it was absolutely fantastic,” said Mr. Bayer, who studied music, dance and drama at the Vienna Conservatory, and then travelled world-wide with his own band.
He was joined at the New York-based show by Sieglinde Acs, a lawyer.
Mr. Bayer was impressed by the elegant dance presentation and by the demeanor of the artists who exuded compassion and grace as they performed.
“[They] were truly original and presented so much politeness, something we have lost here in Vienna. I want to say to my people, ‘Viennese people, please come to this show and see and listen to what these people have brought to us.’”
Mr. Bayer is practically deaf, but he never missed a word.
“I loved this show, because I’m hard of hearing and yet I heard and understood everything … .”
Taking time to reflect, Mr. Bayer was rapt that Shen Yun held his attention from start to finish.
“We live in a time where everything is hectic and everything has to be done at high speed,” he reflected.
“You know, I’m a very sensible person and generally I can’t sit through any show. These shows [today] are too aggressive for me. But, today, I sat through to the end of the show. It was marvelous.”
Ms. Acs was also captivated by her Shen Yun experience.
“In my eyes the show is wonderful,” she said. “I’m amazed as to how the colors are displayed. The color combination in the costumes was fantastic. Then the music underlined and highlighted everything we saw performed on stage.”
Ms. Acs referred to the Shen Yun Orchestra playing a combination of ancient Eastern and modern Western instruments in all-original composition.
“It was amazing. Generally, artistic details are seen once or twice in shows, but here, Shen Yun repeated themselves continuously.”
She resonated with the mesmerizing spiritual aspects of Shen Yun.
“I have to repeat that it was very beautiful. There was somehow simplicity in the show,” she said. “A connection began at the beginning with the creation dance scene, When the Kings Followed the Creator to the Earth and reached a crescendo at the end of the performance with the same theme, The Opening of Heaven’s Gates.”
She said the entire performance was well choreographed bringing to life China’s 5,000 year history to the present day.
“For me, there was a thread woven throughout the show that brought hope. I was deeply touched; the show spoke to my senses. It was a special evening with great depth.”
Reporting by European Epoch Times Staff and Heide B. Malhotra.
