Tonight was Shen Yun. I was hoping that the Falun Dafa references would be very slight and very under toned. It wasn't.
Shen Yun didn't explain Dafa other than it was the truth.
When the show started there were 8 dance numbers with no reference to Dafa. There was a really cute "Joyful Little Monks" dance that was really fun. Reminded me of Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. Anyhow, then the 9th dance was not even subtle about Falun Dafa. In fact, the group was in China and had a sign and was being beaten by China.
For the casual observer it could be Christian group or a peace group, the Dafa didn't have anything as an identifier other than, they got beat up and kept going to Heaven in the end.
But reading about Dafa and the extra-terrestrial stuff and their racism against homosexuality and mixed-races... it's nothing I wish to support.
Regardless, that 9th dance was the Dafa being beaten by the China police and then being blessed by the Heaven's in the end.
After that, there was a tenor who sang about Dafa being spread in the world and showing the falsehoods of the world. "dafa" was projected on the screen over and over again.
After that it was 4 more fun dances. Then the was another tenor signing about Dafa again, but masking in in the word "truth".
2 more fun dances, then another Falun Dafa persecution in China dance. They brandished a banner in Chinese. The program translated it to read, "Falun Dafa is Good". This guy runs away from the police to the mountains, and the fairies from the mountains punish the policemen.
After that 2 more dances. The snowflake dance was beautiful. The spin and twirl sequined handkerchiefs. It doesn't sound like much, but it was an amazing art form.
Then a soprano sang about Dafa. Surprise! It wasn't a tenor this time.
Then another dance about Dafa. The Dafa followers are in China in the park when the police arrive again. They get beaten again. They're left for dead when meteors fall from the sky destroying China. Then Buddha saves the earth and brings the Dafa followers to heaven where they return "to their divine posts".
Then they ended the night with 2 more songs about Dafa.
So Dafa was not subtle. 8 strong references. There were some amazing moments, but the "hidden agenda" was not welcomed.
(Blogspot.com, March 13, 2012)
Original text from: http://theredthreadjourney.blogspot.com/
