Administration of National Opera House says it warned about banning of performance of Chinese dancers from New York

The troupe Shen Yun Performing Arts could not stage a performance at the National Opera House because the organizers of the show in Moldova – the association Falun Dafa – encountered problems, the House's director general Valeria Seican told a news conferee. She said that she does not know yet what problems were invoked and why a contract with the organizers was signed and the tickets were sold. The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was to present a performance at the National Opera House on May 25 and 26. But the performance wasn't given because the administration of the House banned it. Valeria Seican said Falun Dafa on May 17 was informed that the performance in Moldova will not take place as a number of countries in Europe, including Romania and Ukraine, banned the troupe from performing. “The performance that was to be put on is excellent. We are sorry that it did not take place. But the organizers knew what will happen and put the foreign artists in an unpleasant situation,” Valeria Seican said. She also said that the organizers were officially informed by the National Opera House that the performance is not allowed. Falun Dafa denies this, accusing the Embassy of the Republic of China of asking Moldova's Ministry of Culture to ban the performance. The Embassy denies having made approaches to the Ministry, but says Shen Yun Perfoming Arts promotes a current than is banned by the Chinese Government. According to Falun Dafa in Moldova, the dance troupe Shen Yun Perfoming Arts was founded to revive the cultural heritage of China that was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and the over 60 years of Communist regime. The company is based in New York and is independent from the Chinese Communist regime.