The afternoon that we arrived, we took part in a get-together for the visiting performers sponsored by the city. We visited with the Mayor's Assistant on Chinese Affairs, and for the first time, met with a group of performers from Mainland China. Because we are all Chinese, meeting each other far from our homeland, we connected immediately and talked intimately. But when the performers from Mainland China found out that there were Falun Dafa practitioners among the group, they seemed very tense. However, at the suggestion of the interpreter, "Let's form a big family," we posed together for group photos.
Letting the Performers from China Know that "Falun Dafa is Great!"
We performed on the same stage twice with the troupe from China, giving them many opportunities to get to know us first hand. The wall between us, created by the Jiang regime's slanderous propaganda, was melting away.
During the first performance, the Chinese troupe requested that their program be completely finished before we could start ours, in order to avoid contact between our group and theirs. But our two dances back to back would leave insufficient time for changing costumes. After we discussed this situation with them, the organiser arranged for one of our dances to come in the middle of their program. As we waited backstage, the Chinese choreographer praised our beautiful costumes. One of our members told him, "The whole program, including the dance movements, music, and costumes were all created by Falun Dafa practitioners." The choreographer lowered his eyes and said, "Don't talk about this. You just believe what you believe inside your heart." Another Falun Dafa practitioner told him quickly, "Don't worry, we are here to perform, just like you."
Before our second dance, our program announcer explained the origin of the Lotus Dance and the great benefits of Falun Dafa. Our performance won round after round of applause. After the performance, the Chinese troupe pressured the organiser, complaining that they would be in trouble if they were to perform together with a Falun Dafa group. The organiser then told us not to introduce Falun Dafa when making announcements and not to display Falun Dafa poster boards.
When we studied the Fa that night, we realised that we had already clarified the facts to the Chinese performing arts troupe that Falun Dafa is welcomed overseas. We broke through Jiang's slanderous lies with benevolent actions. We understood that we should create further opportunities to let the Chinese people know more about the goodness of Dafa and the evil of the persecution. We would go along with the organiser's request, but we would never forget that we should clarify the facts to people We realised that when we have a harmonious way, with a pure mind, we will find more opportunities to tell people, "Falun Dafa is great!"
The next day, we came to the performance location with truth-clarifying CDs, Falun Dafa introduction materials, and folded paper lotus flowers. In the evening, the Chinese troupe suddenly changed their program, thus delaying the performance. The organiser asked us to step in and cover in this emergency. When our newly prepared dance, "Coming for You" started, the words of the song proclaimed, "Climbing over a thousand mountains and ten thousands rivers, I come again and again for you, I come because of my compassion towards you. Precious Chinese folks, please hear my song from the bottom of my heart, Falun Dafa is Great! Falun Dafa is Great! Be sure not to be fooled by the lies." I firmly believe that all the Chinese performers who were busy changing their costumes understood this resonating song. Judging from their applause after our dance finished, I knew that they received the message.
With the help of some kind helpers, we gave the truth-clarifying CD to every Chinese performer. We hoped that they would bring back these CDs to China, so that more people there can know the facts.
Spreading the Beauty of Falun Dafa to the Local People
We realised that we should clarify the truth of Falun Dafa not only to the performing troupe from China, but also to the local people. Because there are not many Falun Dafa practitioners locally, it had been difficult to share the truth of Falun Dafa there. So we very much wanted to use this opportunity.
The last two days' performances were all on an open stage outdoors, and there were many people in the audience. We demonstrated Falun Dafa exercises between performances and presented people with paper lotus flowers. Many in the audience pinned the flowers on their shirts or in their hair. When all the ready-made flowers were given out, people started to learn how to make these flowers themselves. Children and grownups were sitting together, learning to make lotus flowers. After all the paper we brought was gone, people would ask us, "Are you coming tomorrow?"
We bridged the gap between the audience and us through the flower making. They changed from being simply an audience to becoming active participants. We taught them the technique of folding paper flowers, told them about the inner meaning of these lotus flowers, and talked about the cultivation of Falun Dafa. People were constantly asking for Falun Dafa materials. First one gentleman came to learn the exercises, then quickly the number of people learning Falun Gong made a bigger and bigger circle, finally forming into two circles. It wasn't until we had to go perform indoors that the people who came to learn the exercises finally scattered.
On the last day of our performance, even more people showed up. Many families who had adopted Chinese children came also. Our dancers danced for them, demonstrated the exercises, and taught them how to make paper lotus flowers. A Western gentleman who did acupuncture told me that he saw the energy flowing inside our dancers' bodies.
The Organisers' Change of Attitude
The organisers worried in the beginning that our performance would upset the Chinese performing arts troupe or even the Chinese Embassy, so they put many restrictions on us. However, after being in contact with us and after seeing how the audience embraced our performance, they stopped being worried. Especially when we stepped in during their "emergency," and we added one more day of performance upon their request, they were deeply moved. They were also touched by the harmony between us and the audience during the open stage performances, where we taught people how to make paper flowers and taught them the meditation. Several people who were on the organising board also came to learn the exercises.
An employee of the organising body told us that they were very appreciative of our joining the performance, and that they would like to give each of us a gift. The people on the organising board came over specifically to say goodbye to us and hoped that we would keep in touch with them.
Fellow Practitioners' Experiences
- The power of a group; Although we did not have a detailed plan, we all did what we should do individually. When we came across difficulties, we co-operated with each other instead of focusing on personal opinions. This unity as a whole ensured our success in this event.
- Conflicts resolved with benevolence and wisdom. We followed the organiser’s regulations and gave them time to get to know us. They finally changed their attitude towards us and appreciated our involvement in this event.
- Shortcomings. Many people, including the press, took pictures of us during the two days of open stage performance. We did not pay enough attention to the people who took pictures of us. We were busy happily taking photos with them, teaching people how to fold paper flowers, teaching the exercises, and passing out materials when people asked for them, etc. We forgot to clarify the truth to people when posing for pictures with them, nor did we always give truth-clarifying materials to them. Due to our deficiency in this regard, there were big photos of our dancing in the newspaper, but none mentioned Falun Dafa. We missed an opportunity to clarify the facts about Dafa on a large scale through the media.
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