Antwerp, Belgium: Actor Anthony Arandia: "A message of hope for the people"

(Clearwisdom.net) Anthony Arandia, an actor often called the Flemish "Johnny Depp," and his girlfriend Rebekka Vanderhaeghen, daughter of fashion-designer Kaat Tilley, were among the audience members for the final performance by Shen Yun Divine Performing Arts New York Company at the Stadsschouwburg in Antwerp on Wednesday, February 25, 2009.

Flemish 'Johnny Depp,' and his girlfriend Rebekka Vanderhaeghen.

Mr. Arandia said he appreciated the stories from ancient Chinese culture, especially "The Monkey King Triumphs," where one of Chinese history's most beloved characters, the Monkey King, springs to life in this adaptation of a scene from the 16th century novel Journey to the West. The storyline reflects the melding of the magical, moral, and mundane so common in the traditional Chinese novel.

"The show looks great, it is quite inspiring. There are a lot of stories like the monkey king I did not know about it, really. So I learned a bit more about it."

Mr. Arandia expressed that he was looking at the show's symbols in order to try to understand how the Chinese culture works and how it evolved.

"I studied for a few years in a traditional Kung Fu school, so I am a bit used to it. I am really enjoying the show."

Mr. Arandia was moved by the piece, "Dignity and Compassion." Set in a prison in China, a Falun Dafa prisoner of conscience is cruelly tortured to the brink of death. Her captor falls into a deep slumber and is visited by an otherworldly vision in which guardian deities seek to claim his life as repayment for his terrible acts. The persecuted Falun Dafa practitioner is moved by compassion to have the man's life spared. The act of mercy is not without a message: Terrible consequences result from persecuting these innocent people.

"I like also the story that happens in the prison. It is also a big symbol of what happens in history, of how things change all of a sudden. The arrival of communism had a big impact on Chinese culture.

"It is very nicely done, because it also has a great message of hope for the people who are persecuted and always threatened by a totalitarian regime."

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12742/