Sweden: Artistic Family from Linkoping Full of Praise for Spectacular

The Chinese Spectacular in Linköping Sweden ended in tumultuous applause on the evening of March 27th, 2008. The tickets for the show were sold out two weeks before. A well-known artist Lars Hoffsten, his wife Joanne and their two daughters Alice and Johanna all came to see the show.

"Everything was excellent"

Lars said, "I like the colours of the show, the delicate dance and the music of course. Everything was excellent, excellent".

Hoffsten is a professional painter and drummer. He is from a family of artists. His father Gunnar Hoffsten was a trumpet player, his sister Louise Hoffsten is a famous blues and rock singer. She also played roles in some Swedish films and worked as presenter of a children’s show on the radio.

"Classical Chinese dances are beautiful"

Lars Hoffsten’s wife Joanne was originally from the US and she is an excellent artist as well. When talking about the costume of the Mongolian Bowl Dance, she said, "what attracted me was the small green pearls decorating the dancers heads, this is a very good way. It must be an excellent inspiration".

Lars continued, "I liked their dance, it seems they were floating in water".

Joanne said, "I like the dance 'Nymphs of the Sea'. I think this dance is perfect. I know my husband also likes this dance. The waving of the silk and the glittering of the water on backdrop, so beautiful!"

Lars and Joanne met for the first time at Warsaw Arts Academy in Poland. Joanne works in the media and held exhibitions in the US. Europe and South Africa.

If I could dance Chinese style dance, that would be great!

Their daughter Johanna is fourteen years old and she started to learn dance from aged seven, she said, ‘the Shen Yun Spectacular was very beautiful’.

Their younger daughter Alice is twelve and she started to learn ballet from the age of five. She said, “I like the colours of the costumes very much and I thought everything about the show was excellent.”

When talking about classical Chinese dance, Alice said, “it is different from what I learned, but I like it. If I could dance like the Chinese that would be great!’

"Powerful, like a tool of God"

Lars is a drummer and play in several bands. So he liked the drumming dances of the Gala Spectacular very much. He said, “as for the drumming dance, I liked the last act The Powerful War Drums. I really liked it very much. I realised the drums were very special, very powerful and like a tool of God’.

"I came here for appreciation and learning"

Lars described the show as ‘the taste of different cultures and traditions. I cannot say I know much about Chinese culture and tradition, just part of it, so I am familiar with some issues. Some of the shows details were not unfamiliar to me. I came here for appreciation and learning’.

Joanne said, ‘before the show, we talked with some people. They explained that they tried to display traditional Chinese values through folk tales and dances. I think they are doing very well’. Lars said, most creative!’

Lars said, his grandmother wanted to see the show very eagerly. She is very sanguine and very interested in culture and history, very curious about other nationalities, their way of living and where their values come from. She likes the dances and music so she wanted to see the show very much.

At last Lars said, “from the very beginning when we heard about the news of the Gala Spectacular, we decided to see the show. This is very interesting. We heard about this show for the first time last December and after that we were expecting the show”.