Shen Yun Experience

 

I went to see the Shen Yun show. After spending millions of dollars on advertising and placing those ads in front of us day and night, I was partly tempted by the publicity — but mostly I went because of a long-held curiosity. I expected to see a continuous reflection of five thousand years of Chinese civilization, to understand why this show is banned in modern China, and to witness with my own eyes what kind of magic allows them to present such

dazzling dance performances on stage. With these sky-high expectations, I arrived at the Plenary Theatre.

The south bank of the Yarra River is Melbourne’s cultural precinct. On Saturday afternoon the Convention Centre was bustling with crowds. Various exhibitions and grand events were taking place everywhere. After walking what felt like nearly a thousand steps inside the centre, we reached the gate of the Plenary Theatre. Security checks were underway. Bags were inspected like at an international airport, and they were even emptying full water bottles. After passing the gate, we had to refill the bottles again. Who would bring liquid poison in a water bottle here? What are they so afraid of?

I have attended many events here before. I have watched science events by Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and many others at this very venue. But I have never seen such excessive security checks before. My curiosity increased even more — what kind of forbidden thing were they going to show here?

After receiving the glossy printed Shen Yun magazine, I quickly skimmed through it. Shen Yun Performing Arts — the music and dance company — was formed in New York in 2006. The group mainly consists of second-, third-, or later-generation Chinese descendants living in America. I also noticed a few artists of Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean origin.

They perform in major cities around the world every year. Each year the script, content, and even the performers change. This year in Australia they are staging thirty shows across four cities. After performing on the Gold Coast from February 25 to March 1, they began their Melbourne shows on March 6. Between March 6 and March 15, there were eleven performances. Within a few days of ticket sales opening, almost all tickets were sold out. Ticket prices were also such that the price of a ticket for this two-and-a-half-hour show could buy a return plane ticket from Melbourne to Perth.

The Plenary Theatre, with more than three thousand seats, quickly filled up. Most of the audience were Chinese-Australians, though there were also many Australians of other backgrounds. The number of viewers from our subcontinent was comparatively small. People living abroad long for their own culture. Those who attend concerts of Shreya Ghoshal or Runa Laila here would not come to this show. Similarly, the audience here would not go to listen to Hariharan’s ghazals.

Photography was completely prohibited at this event. A visually impaired viewer sitting in the row in front of us raised a small binocular device to his eyes, and immediately an event guard came and took him aside to inspect the device to ensure it was not recording video.

People in this country — and people who come to this country — follow rules. Everyone had smartphones, because the tickets were on their phones. But it was nice to see that everyone silently switched their phones to silent mode and kept them quiet. No one secretly recorded videos for social media applause.

As time passed, more than fifty young musicians came and sat in the front row of the stage. Some had not even reached youth yet — at most they were in their early teens. Many of their musical instruments were bigger than their bodies.

From the floor to the ceiling behind the huge stage was a giant digital backdrop. The show began with dance and music in the royal court of ancient China. The combination of modern digital technology and the physical dance skills of young performers created a magical atmosphere almost instantly.

The coordination between live music, sound production, and dance was extremely precise. Presenters in English and Chinese occasionally narrated the program and the history of Shen Yun. The entire show consisted of eighteen short scenes of six to seven minutes each, filled with dance, music, and acting — and the whole program was consistently enjoyable.

Without extraordinary skill in Chinese classical dance and music, such a flawless performance would be impossible. All the performers were slim, tall, and extremely good-looking. It was clear that without a perfect combination of beauty, talent, and grace, there was no place here.

There were two things I did not like at all. First — the promotion of superstition. Falun Gong is directly promoted in this show, and this company is essentially a Falun Gong organization. Falun Gong is banned in mainland China because it promotes superstition and pseudoscience. In the show, the Chinese Communist Party was directly portrayed as demons who persecute good people. In one dramatic scene, it was shown that by divine blessing a blind person regained sight, and a broken arm healed through Falun Gong exercises.

Falun Gong was founded in China in 1992 based on ancient Buddhism and some folk philosophies. It quickly became popular. Within ten years, nearly 100 million followers began practicing publicly in cities across China. Naturally, the Chinese authorities did not take this positively. Their patience finally broke on April 25, 1999, when more than ten thousand Falun Gong members gathered and surrounded government offices in Beijing demanding official recognition.

As a result, what was expected happened. In July 1999 Falun Gong was banned in China, and public practice was prohibited. Many members took this opportunity to go to America and Europe seeking political asylum and started their activities there. One of the results of those twenty-five years of activities is Shen Yun.

The second thing I did not like was that in one song it was said that atheists and evolutionists are inferior human beings. The song was in Chinese, but the English translation was shown on the screen for the audience. You may believe in the supernatural — that is your choice. But who gave you the right to insult those who do not believe?

Australia is a liberal country. As long as you do not break the law, no one interferes with your freedom of speech. But beyond law, there is also morality and ethics. I felt that this particular song in Shen Yun was unethical.

Apart from these issues, the show was very enjoyable. However, the way it was over-advertised created such high expectations that I must admit I was somewhat disappointed.

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The pictures used in this post are taken from Shen Yun's official Ads.