(Clearwisdom.net) The Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company staged two shows at the European premiere of the 2012 Shen Yun Performing Arts Tour on March 12-13, 2012, at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague, The Netherlands. In a ceremony following the second show, the company was presented with a coveted Montblanc Art Patronage Award for its consummate artistic talent.

Shen Yun honored with ‘Patron of the Arts’ award from Montblanc

The audience watches Shen Yun Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. (Courtesy of The Epoch Times )

In a congratulatory statement, Jan van Holten, managing director of Montblanc International B.V.—a global leader in high quality writing instruments—said, “We are very proud to present Shen Yun Performing Arts with our Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award. As a symbol of our recognition and respect for the rich Chinese cultural heritage that you [the audience] will discover during this magnificent performance. Five thousand years of enchanting history brought to you by the incredibly talented performers of Shen Yun.”

The Montblanc Arts Patronage Award given to Shen Yun Performing Arts as an initiative of Montblanc Benelux. Note: Perspective was altered in this image to facilitate reading text contained within. (Courtesy of The Epoch Times)

He continued, “Montblanc is also a very big fan of cultural heritage and anything related to art and culture. So every year we produce a number of writing instruments with which to honor people.”

This year’s award comes with a limited edition pen that honors the first patron and protector of the arts and culture known in the West, Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, who served under the Roman emperor Augustus and played an important role in protecting art and culture.

Mr. van Holten was especially impressed with classical Chinese dance, saying it was “astonishing.”

“The way it all goes, it's so smooth, and at the same time it's elegant. It was very nice … the softness and the elegance of the ladies and the men who are a bit tougher and more forceful,” he elaborated.

Supporting genuine art, according to Mr. van Holten, “is the backbone of our company.”

Montblanc marketing manager: Shen Yun is ‘marvelous’

Julia Aarten, marketing manager of Montblanc Benelux, said the Shen Yun performance at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague on March 11 was "splendid." (Courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Marketing manager of Montblanc Benelux Julia Aarten said Shen Yun exceeded her expectations. She called it a “splendid performance,” adding, “I had high expectations, but it even has exceeded my expectations. It was really magnificent!”

Commenting on the group dance programs she said, “The synchronization and elegance it expresses is very pretty.”

She also enjoyed the brilliant colors of the costumes, saying, “Splendid, beautiful how the colors were used, nice flowing texture and lines … Very nicely done, the variation on themes and how the message was subtly conveyed.”

As part of a Montblanc delegation that awarded Shen Yun Performing Arts with a Montblanc Art Patronage Award, Ms. Aarten said Shen Yun was given the award “because of the admiration we have for Shen Yun. It is something very beautiful, which certainly deserves the attention and recognition of a larger audience.”

Royal Dutch Shell manager: Shen Yun is ‘brilliant’

Thomas and Luciana Wagner at the Shen Yun performance at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague on March 13 (Courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Also in the audience was Thomas Wagner, Group Financial Planning Manager at Royal Dutch Shell, who described Shen Yun as “an amazing spectacle.” He was accompanied by his wife, Luciana Wagner, a former ballet dancer.

“It is a great show, very colorful, beautiful dance, I enjoyed it a lot,” Mr. Wagner said.

Ms. Wagner thought the Shen Yun artists were “fantastic,” adding, “Everything moves together, [one] cannot see any mistakes, they are perfect! I like everything: the steps, the dance, everything … I think it is fantastic.”

She also commented on the wide array of handmade costumes in the show. “Colorful, beautiful costumes—a lot of colors that cheer you up,” she said.

Mr. Wagner talked about how Shen Yun linked ancient China and China of today “and how people are persecuted for their beliefs,” which he says was well done.

“It was basically a reminder that Falun Gong is persecuted in China for their beliefs … I think it was beautiful; I think it fits together as a colorful experience,” he explained.

Mr. Wagner concluded by saying that, overall, the show was “Brilliant!”

Celebrated Dutch personality: Shen Yun is ‘like a dream’

Erik van Muiswinkel (L) after attending the Shen Yun performance at the Lucent Danstheater on March 11. (Courtesy of Giusy de Ceglia)

Also attending the show was the celebrated the 20-year veteran of Dutch stand-up comedy, television, and film, Erik van Muiswinkel, who said he has seen Shen Yun for the past two years. It is “still like a dream,” he enthused.

“Again the music, especially the music, and the girls dancing—especially the small steps they take in moving on the stage—is still like a dream. It is so beautiful, I was very much impressed again,” Mr. van Muiswinkel said.

He described Shen Yun as a team effort. “Sometimes there were 40 dancers at the same time [on stage], and they literally make waves. So you don’t concentrate on any individual dancer.”

He particularly enjoyed the music. “You leave the theatre filled with it. My whole head is full of this … like a river. It is beautiful. It will take me another two or three days to get rid of it again—but I don’t need to get rid of it.”

Business owner: Shen Yun ‘a gift to my eyes’

Herman Buitelaar and his wife Maria saw Shen Yun at the Lucent Danstheater on March 12. (Courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Herman Buitelaar, the owner of a company that manufactures machines that process metal and wood, attended Shen Yun accompanied by his wife, Maria.

Mr. Buitelaar said the show was “really fantastic. A gift to my eyes.”

Mrs. Buitelaar, who is the manager of the business, said they both spend a considerable amount of time in China on business trips. Although they have seen some local performances there, after seeing Shen Yun, they exclaimed, “You don’t see this in China!”

Mr. Buitelaar said that he was going to see Shen Yun next year and take some of his business contacts to see the “beautiful” show as well.

He was especially impressed by the opening dance, “An Era Begins.” “When I saw the opening … so fantastic, [and] especially the silk dance, it was so beautiful, fantastic, really fantastic,” he said.

Referring to the traditional principles in Chinese culture that are reflected in the Shen Yun performance, both Mr. and Mrs. Buitelaar commented positively.

Mr. Buitelaar said, “The whole concept that there is an interaction between human life and divine life, and that the good is supported by nature, by the divine, and that it will triumph in the end. That’s a universal experience of all wise people, and that is beautifully, artistically expressed in this art form. But it’s a universal theme, it’s not a religion, it’s an experience, a universal experience, the principle of life. Life will triumph, the truth will triumph.”

Regarding a dance in which Falun Gong practitioners were meditating, Mrs. Buitelaar said, “For me it is a positive feeling, very good, and I’m very glad to see that there is still a young group of Chinese people who like to show the rest of the world that China is not totally a non-spiritual country—there is so much spirit in the Chinese people.”

Sources:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/montblanc-honors-shen-yun-as-patron-of-the-arts-204591.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-marvellous-says-montblanc-marketing-manager-204643.html
http://circumnavigational/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-brilliant-says-manager-at-royal-dutch-shell-204683.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-performing-arts-like-a-dream-says-celebrated-dutch-personality-204206.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/business-owner-says-shen-yun-a-gift-to-my-eyes-204764.html