TORINO, Italy—When the curtain at the Teatro Regio opened upon a glorious heavenly scene, The Emperor Ushers in a Glorious Age, the audience applauded enthusiastically in a show of appreciation.

Moreover, at the end of the evening, the audience lavished the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts’ showcase of ancient China’s cultural heritage brought into the 21st century with three curtain calls and a standing ovation.

Among them was Enrico Gennaro, president of a consultancy firm and former president of the Cultural Commission of the Municipality of Torino.

“About tonight's spectacle," he said, "I did not only like it but it also enthused me because it was very refined and also very Chinese.”

His long-time fascination of China's 5,000-year-old divinely-inspired heritage was what brought him to see the world premier show held on the evening of June 9.

“I appreciated the music and [the] artist’s efforts ... we do have this habit to look at life through the eyes of history," he said. "I really appreciated these pictures of the Chinese history and culture; from the Great Chinese Wall at the beginning, from the Buddhism images, and essentially the costumes of China which are undoubtedly very beautiful."

Trademarks of Shen Yun were revealed through story-based dances adapted from Chinese legends, folk tales and modern stories, staged by gorgeously costumed dancers choreographed to match state-of-the-art digital backdrops, Mr. Gennaro noted. The dances were complemented by a full orchestral ensemble of Western and Eastern instruments combined.

Many audience members remarked on the underlying messages evident throughout, and as each breathtaking presentation unfolds, gasps of surprised pleasure can be heard.

“Surely, the first message is an enchanting culture that has been put together, and the other message is certainly the one of the curtailment of freedom, the limitation of freedom to practice Falun Gong [Nothing Can Block the Divine Path and Astounding Conviction] and it was evident that we understood the message,” Mr. Gennaro concluded.
‘A show worth seeing’

Manager Cesare Paonessa and Patrizia Londardi, a composer and university lecturer had attended the Shen Yun show the night before.

The couple were moved by the dance Nothing Can Block the Divine Path that highlights the persecution in China of Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual practice.

“I find this show to be very special. It is a performance of a kind that I didn´t know before and that I like very much,” Mr. Paonessa said. “It is worth watching this show.”

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

Original article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/37260/