Just weeks before Shen Yun is set to perform for the first time in Madrid, the shows were suddenly canceled. The theater claims the cancellation is due to “technical difficulties,” but organizers say that’s the excuse usually given whenever the Chinese embassy is the real reason.<\/p>\n
With three performances scheduled January 31 – February 2, the Royal Theater director sent a letter canceling the shows on January 7. The explanation given was that there was an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unavoidable artistic needs of the stage space\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for a production of Das\u00c2\u00a0Rheingold. However, that production was already scheduled when the contracts with Shen Yun were signed and it was not perceived to be a problem then.<\/p>\n
In a press release, Shen Yun’s local presenter, \u00c2 Puro Arte Humano, said it was confident “the Chinese Embassy has pressured the Madrid Coliseum to achieve the cancellation of the show, something that they already tried in Barcelona without success in 2014.”<\/p>\n