Chinese New Year Splendor at Radio City Music Hall
For years I’ve seen this show advertised on the side of buses, on phone booths, there’s even direct marketing with women in traditional dress handing out flyers in Times Square. This being the first year in a long while where I had some spare pocket change, I figured, why not? What I thought would be an energetic, bright and musical show filled with dragons, drums and excitement turned out to be what I imagine a Carnival Cruise is like if controlled by the Falun Gong.
Yes - this is one big propaganda program put on by those nutcases who stage faux public beatings on our city streets. It starts out subtle, with song lyrics that translate to the “mighty Falun” and the “all wise Dafa” and then gets explicit, you guessed it, some of those torture scenarios. This is for kids, though, so it is done through ballet. Hammer and Sickle-clad men assault helpless women in a prison - until they die and are wisked away to a giant LCD screen paradise. We are then led in song where we are implored to “distrust the crooked Reds” and “await the destruction of this corrupt regime.”
All of this, in its own way, is awesome.
But nothing is as awesome as the two hosts, speaking in alternating Mandarin and English, with their Lawrence Welk-style jokes. From fortune cookie jokes to being scared of the big crashing gong, it is as if these two people have been summoned here from the squarest, pre-ironic corner of the Universe.
“We bring you…LOTUS BLOSSOM!!!” they bellow. And it was as if Ann and I were the only people who thought something strange was going on.
Six hours of slow ballet later (no dragons! no acrobatics! very little drumming!) there was an intermission. And we celebrated the Year of the Cab Ride Home.
Thank you for writing your review. You and Ann were not the only people who thought something strange was going on. There was not much clapping from the audience and I looked around to see many surprised and unhappy people. There were also a number who walked out and didn’t come back. On Friday I listened to this propaganda-ran show. Truly I felt like I was tied down by the Falun Gong and made to watch this. My husband and I believed there were going to be spectacular performances. As you mentioned there were no dragons, little drumming, and the scenes where they were dancing as if they were fighting was not well done. The regular dance scenes were good because these really were good students. (Definitely not worth the money I paid though.) BY THE WAY THEY DID ANNOUNCE AT THE SHOW THAT ALL THE ENTERTAINERS WERE FROM THE U.S. AND LEARNED EVERYTHING HERE. Only the singers and the woman who played the ainu instrument were very good. However the singers only sang about the falun gong ways. Everyone in the audience was shang-haid. This was an obvious fundraiser and it should have been marketed as such. With reviews and all. There people respresenting falun gung people were interviewing people to see what they thought. I told them the truth. “I don’t mix my arts with politics!” They were shocked. I don’t like it when people get me to spend money under false pretenses. People shouldn’t waste their money on this AND I WISH I COULD GET MY MONEY BACK!
Comment by Lisa Latimer — February 10, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
Femme Actuelle : Shen Yun sends a message of peace to the Chinese government
A month before Shen Yun’s New Year Spectacular in Paris (February 29, March 1st and 2nd), the largest magazine in France, Femme Actuelle (1.058.500 copies per week) devoted a full page and a half to promote Shen Yun Spectacular in very praising words.
Emphasizing the high artistic quality of the show, the journalist compliments the astounding beauty of choreography, hand-made costumes and shimmering scenery worthy of the biggest spectaculars.
Admiring the rich historical content of Shen Yun, he explained that the New Year Spectacular depicts a forgotten China, not Mao Zedong’s China, not the China of the Tiananmen tragic events in 1989, and brings back to life the most refined periods of history that the planet has ever gone through : the prosperous Tang and Qing dynasties.
From what the journalist understood, behind the beauty Shen Yun’s show is imbued with peace and tolerance and expresses values that are all too often trampled in China.
Comment by Nancy Lee — February 22, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
My daughter and I went to see the Chinese New Year Splendor show in Chicago last year, and we thought that it was just great - - really beautiful. My daughter has been studying Chinese language and literature, and it was as though the Chinese dynasties were right up there on stage! The costumes, music, even the scenery are authentic to their region and time period. Or did you walk out before the “Mongolian Bowl Dance”?
This year we saw it again, and many of our friends went to see it as well. Everyone loved it - - not one found fault with the content of the performances.
The Chinese Splendor show mentioned truthfulness - compassion- tolerance . As a mother of 5 children, these are all qualities that I emphasize to my kids. Wouldn’t this world be a much better place if we all tried to handle each other with compassion and tolerance?
As for the performances that dealt with the abuses taking place in China against Falun Gong, it’s now already a part of Chinese history, and is no more inappropriate a subject matter for the stage than, say, “Fiddler On the Roof”, which dealt with the oppression of the Jews.
I hope that this show tours next year - I definitely plan to see it!
Comment by Jean — February 23, 2008 @ 3:07 pm
As a person grew up in China, I will say,” this is a real traditional Chinese Culture Spectacular.” You expect to see the dragon and lion dance, but do you really think that is all the 5 thousand years culture about. The dragon and lion dance is mostly performed on the street, not on the stage. The falun gong message among the show express something really good, a world with truthfulness, compassion and tolerance will be much better.
Comment by Danny — March 11, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
I am sure the guys who were trying to brighten up the shen yun show are FLGers - no one else could be that shameless - these guys are professionals - professional liars.
Comment by Christopher — April 22, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
I would like to ask Danny: Are you sure you really grew up in China? And are you sure it is really traditional Chinese Culture Spectacular?
Please, take off your mask, and tell people the truth that you are a FLGer.
FLGer, please, stop lying that Shen Yun is traditional Chinese Culture Spectacular. For everyone who really want to know what is a traditional Chinese Culture Spectacular, go to China to take a look at that. Then you will find the truth, rather than the lies FLGers have being telling.
“As a person grew up in China, I will say,” this is a real traditional Chinese Culture Spectacular.” You expect to see the dragon and lion dance, but do you really think that is all the 5 thousand years culture about. The dragon and lion dance is mostly performed on the street, not on the stage. The falun gong message among the show express something really good, a world with truthfulness, compassion and tolerance will be much better.
Comment by Danny — March 11, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
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Comment by Tom — May 2, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
I’m a Chinese student from Fushun,Liaoning Province.Falungong is our Chinese people’s emeny completely now.They want to destroy the result of our government and our activily people on the Olympic Games.I often use their software “freegate” to look the”truth”they said,and I think,they can only break the peaceful Chinse society and telling lies to the people who don’t know Falungong’s truth.After the earthquake at Wenchuan,Falungong said nothing about it,and they have no sad for the terrible earthquake,face to more about 69198 people died.
Comment by Mo Li — July 30, 2008 @ 4:59 am