BIRMINGHAM, UK—Shen Yun Performing Arts enthralled the audience on Jan. 4. Theo Platt, vice president of a data engineering and software company, attended with his son, Thomas, at the ICC Birmingham-Hall 1 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It was the first time Mr. Platt and his son attended a Shen Yun performance.
“I really enjoyed the whole thing,” Theo Platt said. “The whole experience, end to end. I think there were lots of interesting snippets of an old culture, very traditional, from thousands of years ago, and bringing that right up to date and seeing how that is being reflected in modern day culture in China, as well. The whole theme of it, I think, was fascinating.”
Shen Yun’s goal is to restore the goodness and glory of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture and share with the world the beauty of China before communism.
Thomas Platt said, “I came in thinking that I would enjoy it. And I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I loved everything—the [animated] screen, the dancers, the orchestra. It was amazing.”
He said that it was a new experience. “For me, it opened up a whole new world I’d never experienced before. A new sort of culture I haven’t experienced or seen. New imagery I’d never experienced before. Fascinating.”
China’s rich civilization thrived, built on a deep belief that those who lead a virtuous life will be blessed by the divine. However, since the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover in 1949, these traditional values have been undermined and replaced with atheism.
Thomas Platt said, “I really liked the preservation of tradition—how [Shen Yun] emphasized the importance of Chinese traditional dancing and music, and all these instruments, like the erhu. I heard a couple of other [Chinese instruments] in there as well.”
Each Shen Yun performance features a live orchestra comprised of Eastern and Western musical instruments. The erhu is a Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument that is part of the live orchestra that performs in the production. “It was amazing,” he said.
Shen Yun’s mission is to bring China’s heritage to the modern world. “I think it’s really important, especially just to spread awareness of what traditional cultures from across the world, not only Chinese culture, but other East Asian cultures, African cultures, cultures across the world that maybe we don’t know so much about,” the younger Platt said.
He appreciated Shen Yun’s visit to present Chinese culture.
“Coming to a place like this, like Shen Yun, and being able to experience that, especially the traditional culture in a unique way, is really amazing to me,” he said.
Theo Platt said, “I’ve spent my whole life—I’m 50-something now—in this Western bubble, and never really experienced Asian culture before, other than living amongst it, but I’ve never really experienced or read about it.
“My son was reading ‘Journey to the West’ [a Buddhist story of spiritual awakening] a couple of months ago and was telling us about the stories in there, and the fascinating sort of culture within that.
“It’s great to learn about it for the first time. I feel like I’ve missed out a lot in my life by not being aware of it,” he said.
Traditional Values
Thomas Platt noted that Chinese culture can bring traditional values back to modern society. “I really liked how a lot of the story performances were about being kind to others, and how being kind is rewarded.
“And, obviously, in the stories, they’re rewarded by the heavens and Divinity. Even just applying that to everyday lives, even though we may not be directly rewarded by the heavens, we can still have that sense of satisfaction by helping others. That’s something that I enjoyed.”
The younger Platt said Shen Yun’s performance would stay with him for a long time. “I think I’ll remember it for a long time, if not my whole life. I might come back again some other year because I did enjoy it a lot,” he said.
“[Shen Yun] is a totally unique experience in every way. The performance is unique; it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. The music is unique. The storytelling is unique. And the screen is unique. Actually, everything about it is amazing, to be honest.”
Formed in 2006, Shen Yun has a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, and they say they practice what they preach. It is a culture deeply spiritual and believed to be divinely inspired, drawing morals and principles from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Shen Yun performers seek spiritual self-improvement alongside artistic excellence, according to the program.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is now touring its all-new 2025 production to over 200 cities across five continents, which is expected to be its most engaging season ever.
Reporting by Yvonne Marcotte.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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