Category: Auckland

Student’s Body Found in Cave After New Zealand Hit by Floods

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—New Zealand police said they have found the body of a high school student in a cave after a school group got into trouble when floodwaters hit. A group of 15 students and two adults had set out Tuesday morning on a trip to the Abbey Caves in Whangārei as part of an…


Television Presenter Felt Empowered by Shen Yun’s Message

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Tiare Tawera, CEO, actor, and fitness guru, attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts concert with his sister Carly Taia, a legal secretary, at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on April 22. Having worked in the television industry for two decades, Mr. Tawera, who is a presenter on “Toi Te Ora,” said the Shen…


Shen Yun ‘Draws Us Into a Divine World, Shows What Life Can Be,’ Says Musician

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Musician Sunny Ray and her mother Jamala Smyth, a therapist, were inspired by the Shen Yun Performing Arts concert at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on April 21. “So very inspiring, the dancing itself, but it’s the message that comes through from behind,” said Ms. Ray. “Behind it is this passion and this…


Shen Yun an ‘Experience of God’: Independent Artistic Director, Singer, Dancer

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Rana Hamida described Shen Yun Performing Arts as an “experience of God.” Ms. Hamida is an independent artistic director who works with events and festivals, coordinating artists from different mediums of expressions. She is also a singer and dancer. She and Mr. Glenn Hart, a freelance photographer, attended the last of Shen Yun’s five sold-out shows…


Classical Pianist and Mother of 10 Relates to ‘Beautiful Ideas’ of Shen Yun

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Professional pianist Wendy Park was treated to Shen Yun Performing Arts by her husband for their wedding anniversary on April 22. “I am just amazed,” she said from Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, in Auckland. “I really had no idea that the music would be so beautiful. I am really attracted to the…


Shen Yun ‘Opens Your Eyes’: Mother and Daughter Stunned

AUCKLAND—Shen Yun Performing Arts left a deep impression on Marilise Van De Venter and her daughter Daniella when they attended a matinee performance at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Auckland on April 22. Through music and dance, the New York-based Shen Yun aims to revive China’s traditional culture, which has faded under the Chinese Communist…


Shen Yun Brings a ‘Unique Pure Energy’: Media Awards Winner

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Steve Hutton felt uplifted by a “unique pure energy” when he saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre for the first time. “I felt the energy coming from the stage—it was a unique pure energy,” he said on April 21. “It is the only way I can describe it—it…


New Zealand Official Says Shen Yun Is ‘First Class’ and ‘Brilliant’

AUCKLAND, New Zealand— Winston Peters, Leader of political party called NZ First and formerly served twice as Deputy Prime Minister, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on April 20. “First class, top rate,” he said, “everyone was faultless and that is not easy to see in…


Shen Yun Is ‘A Movement About Humanity and Embracing It’: CEO, NZ Maori Council Member

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—”This is a never to miss moment!” said Mr. Roimata Minhinnick from Ngāti Te Ata, which is around Manukau Harbour, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time on April 20. A member of the New Zealand Maori Council, Mr. Minhinnick has served as the chair of its Law, Justice, and Corrections Committee, as well…


Shen Yun’s ‘Just Too Good to Be Missed,’ Says Creative Director of Dance School

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—“The male dance was very boisterous and very energetic and the female dance was very graceful and very elegant,” said Prabha Ravi, the creative director and founder of the Natraj School of Dance. It was the Indian classical dance school’s 25th Anniversary. “It was just stunning and beautiful,” Ms. Ravi said. Ms. Ravi…