Czech Republic Audience Uplifted by Shen Yun Performing Arts: 'Is Not Just Art, It Is Enormously Spiritual'

Shen Yun Performing Arts graced the stage at the Janacek Theatre in Brno, Czech Republic and was highly praised by an appreciative audience, who honoured the artists with five curtain calls and a long standing ovation. Petr Mrkyvka, Honorary Consul of Poland in Brno, attended the premiere on April 19.

Mr. Mrkyvka, who is also a university lecturer and vice dean of the Faculty of Law of the Masaryk University Brno, said that the "Impression from Shen Yun was huge," and that he thinks that "it is not just art, it is enormously spiritual."

Petr Mrkyvka, Honorary Consul of Poland in Brno, Czech Republic

"I have also seen illustrations of what is happening in China, that not everything is as it should be and there is lot of suffering, but I have also seen great hope in the show, which gives me strength. And I have also understood, that art can heal a soul, isn't it wonderful?" Mr. Mrkyvka added.

The dance scene, Mongolian Hospitality, awoke distant memories from the consul's childhood: "The one thing that held my interest, was the dance with Mongolian dishes from Inner Mongolia, because quite long time ago, when I was 14, I used to be in a camp which was in Outer Mongolia. So when I saw steppe and yurts, I said to myself that I would like to see it once again."

Mr. Mrkyvka also talked about the hope that seeing Shen Yun gave him: "That if there is something wrong, it can be set right; that something is guiding us and pushing us forwards."
Former Czech Minister of Culture: 'It's an extraordinary event, something authentic'

Among the enthusiastic crowd welcoming Shen Yun to Brno was the influential and well known Czechoslovakian intellectual Milan Uhde. "[The] dance performances were excellent! Remarkable," said the writer and former politician. "It's an extraordinary event and I am glad I'm here."

Mr. Milan Uhde essayist, playwright, and prose writer

During the years of communist oppression in his homeland, Mr. Uhde had to continue his creative work underground, and he became an influential dissident writer during the years of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. With his unique perspective, Mr. Uhde appreciated the great artistic skill of the dancers of Shen Yun, and he was deeply touched by the performances.

"I was watching the dancers, and their art was great," Mr. Uhde said. "This is one of the few ways of showing that the situation in China is not normal, that its economical success is conditioned by enslaving hundreds of millions of people, who seem not to be aware of it, but I think they are, and I believe, that one day, their time will come. So to me, this was a reminder, that someone sees the situation as it is. My impressions are good, I'm glad, that I came."

Mr. Uhde was most taken by the performers and expressed his appreciation of the dancers' techniques. "It's spectacular. It's an extraordinary event, something authentic. ... What they can do is just amazing."

The Czech cultural hero was very glad to have seen Shen Yun. "It's worth it, it's a lifetime experience."

Mr. Uhde's career as an essayist, playwright, and prose writer has touched two centuries. Mr. Uhde is a recipient of the State Medal of Merit in the Cultural Sphere. He also served as the first Minister of Culture for Czechoslovakia, after the non-violent overthrow of the communists in the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Mr. Uhde served in Parliament and the Czech National Council from 1990 to 1998, when he returned to his lifelong literary endeavours. He has also helped to mentor the next generation at the Academy of Literature.

Source:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/33740/
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