BRUGES, Belgium—Concertgebouw theater in the city of Bruges played host to Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first of two shows in the city that is none as one of Belgium's crown jewels and is sometimes called the “Venice of the North.” But tonight, March 9, it was traditional Chinese culture that came alive on stage. An appreciative audience honored the Shen Yun artists with three curtain calls and standing ovations.

In the audience were Royce Bradshaw who works for NATO as a Financial Controller, and his wife Valia Bradshaw, a designer of jewelry who owns Rovalia Lea Art Jewellery. Mrs. Bradshaw is originally from Bulgaria and she introduced her jewelry-making to the world in her first solo show in Sofia in 2007. She also previously studied architecture. Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw travelled from Brussels where they live especially to see the show.

Mr. Bradshaw liked the show very much: “I think it’s wonderful, they really are wonderful.”

The Tibetan Dance of Praise was very touching for him in which, according to the program, dressed in the garb of traditional Tibetan nobility, young men and women share their joy of life in the snowy mountains. Dance in Tibet—harmonious in form and energy—is as much a part of daily life as herding, hunting, or devotional prayers.

Wu Song Battles the Tiger was another dance that he enjoyed where a man-eating tiger plagues a small village that borders a forest. The mighty Wu Song decides to stalk the beast himself and saves the village. “I thought that with the tiger, it’s like saving the village.”

“All the dancing was wonderful,” he added.

They both enjoyed the state-of-the-art 3D digital backdrops displaying animated images with breathtaking scenery of blossoming landscapes or celestial palaces.

“Excellent, excellent. That’s it really, and they integrated it. Especially when they came down from heaven, and then the monks came up,” Mr. Bradshaw said.

Mrs. Bradshaw added, “Also with the scenes of daily life, with killing the tiger, and killing the mother [referring to Nothing Can Block the Divine Path].

“It is quite good that they showed a negative side, like … wrong and right, and good versus evil,” he said.
’It is a pleasure to see it’

Also in the audience were Liv Vaudeputte, a tax advisor and teacher, and Fred Acx, a student of office.

“The music and the performance worked very well together,” Mr. Vaudeputte said. “I liked it because it is a form of history. It is a study on their story and music. It is a pleasure to see it.

“The Tibetan dance impressed me deeply, because it is religion, and also dramatic,” he said.

Mr. Acx said: “I liked it very much because it showed the story of China and the persecution [of Falun Gong].”

With reporting by Loretta Duchamps and Yi Zhang.

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/31100/