FRANKFURT—Three generations of the Vandermaeden family were delighted to see the Spectacular on Sunday evening at Frankfurt's Jahrhunderthalle.
Brigitte Talamini, a Financial Advisor with ING bank in the Netherlands, drove over 450 kilometers with her two daughters, to join her family in Frankfurt to see the Spectacular .
"It's really a complete show," she said, insisting that she must obtain the soundtrack immediately.
"…the first [act, "Creation"] was impressive, with all its colours and all the happiness they had… the movements [of the lead female dancers] were so technically difficult, and yet all the same, at the same time, there was all this harmony in it," she said.
Brigitte's daughter Julia told her that she liked "The Risen Lotus Flower" and "The Power of Awareness" the most. Julia told her that she liked how the characters needed to [disregard authorities] "to stand up for their beliefs," she said.
The acts feature Falun Gong practitioners resisting persecution by Chinese communist regime police. The practitioners stand up for their beliefs, and to do so, they have to stand up to the regime, said Brigitte, explaining her daughter's words.
According to Brigitte, Julia was "jealous" of the child actress in "The Power of Awareness".
"How long did she have to practice to be able to dance like that? Could I do the same?" she asked her mother.
Brigitte's sister Susan Vandermaeden, a physical therapist now living in Kaiserslautern, was also very touched by the show.
"It was very touching the heart, because it's all about the inner meaning. I think I liked the dance with the three women who were in jail ["The Risen Lotus Flower"], I liked that very much. But actually, I liked it all, because they are dancing so nicely, and their movements were so nice. And the dresses and the colours are all very beautiful," she said.
When asked what she liked about "The Risen Lotus Flower", Susan said, "I know they are standing for the truth, and that's all that counts, the truth.
"I think it's very good when you believe in something, there's nothing in the world that can change your mind about it."
Susan also thought the show's costumes were "beautiful," as did Brigitte's and her daughters, particularly the green lead dancers' costumes in "Creation."
"We want to have some things like this, can you buy them here?" Susan reported the girls asked her.
Susan also said that her mother, Els Vandermaeden was impressed by the first vocal act of the show, "Awakening" sung by Min Jiang.
"The song was speaking about how all of it can come, the bad things, but only the truth stays," said Susan.
"They had the courage to say that, and she [Els] was impressed by that," she said.
Els's husband Juep also had nothing but praise for the Spectacular. It was "Wonderful, wonderful!" he said.
He went on, "Every single show was nice. Everything was nice, the colours, the decoration, and there were things that gave it a kick, the Mongolian ["Herding on the Mongolian Plains"], the last number with the drums ["Victory Drums"], and the prison ["The Risen Lotus Flower"] made a very good impression."
With respect to the latter performance, he particularly appreciated its showcasing of "human rights." As was the case for his granddaughters, the "little girl" in "The Power of Awareness" piece made quite an impression on him.
"It was quite emotional," he said. "Also change has to come from inside, inside the person. We also can say something and do something, but revolution has to come from inside."
Coming back to his daughter Brigitte, she said that the show prompted her to want to learn more about Falun Gong.
She said she would recommend the show to, "all people that are open to new ideas and new ambitions in life, to new cultures. Everybody is welcome."
Performed by Divine Performing Arts on Tour, the Shen Yun Chinese Spectacular will play three shows in Frankfurt before continuing on to Berlin and Hamburg. For other shows in the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.shenyun.eu
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit: http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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