The New York-based classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts is kicking off its 2025 world tour on Monday. Over the past 18 years, Shen Yun’s beautiful presentations of traditional Chinese art and culture have touched audiences across the globe. We take a look at past years’ audience reviews to see how ethnic Chinese audiences have reacted to the performances.
“All the choreography, the dancers’ movements, everything was flawless,” said Lisa Liu after watching a Shen Yun performance in New York. “I felt like I had arrived in heaven. I saw their graceful postures, and I felt like, that’s where I came from!”
“I believe this is something that ordinary people cannot perform. This is definitely not just a performance,” said Ms. Zhao at a theater in Osaka, Japan. “I even feel like the performers on stage are all heavenly beings and heavenly maidens. This music and dance can only come from the heavens.”
“I felt extremely excited, like every pore of my body was open, and the blood sang in my veins,” said Chang Liu after watching the show in Toronto, Canada.
“I was awe-struck right from the opening,” said Michael Wang, a retired businessman in Vancouver, Canada. “Shen Yun presents the true Chinese culture. It has the divinely transmitted culture, China’s true culture in it.”
“I was so emotional,” said Pat Hong, also from Vancouver. “When I saw the first program, tears began falling from my eyes. I was so moved, so moved.”
Chinese audiences expressed deep gratitude for the performances’ preservation and revival of traditional Chinese culture.
“Nowadays China’s traditional culture has been completely shattered and you can hardly see things like this anymore,” said Yan Liu after watching the show in Toronto. “To be able to see Shen Yun overseas, preserving the flame of Chinese culture, I feel truly grateful.”
“China’s greatest calamity is actually the cultural destruction caused by the [Chinese Communist Party’s] rule after its establishment. The spirit of the Chinese people has rotted in materialistic greed. In this situation, Shen Yun’s pursuit of spiritual revival is in itself a cause to save humanity’s soul,” said Hongbing Yuan, a law professor, upon watching the show in Sydney, Australia.
Many in the audience expressed the same wish: for Shen Yun to one day perform in mainland China, where it is currently banned.
“I have a special wish—I truly hope my family can see Shen Yun,” Lisa Liu told NTD, her voice breaking from emotion.
“Shen Yun preserves the flame of our Chinese culture, and we must have them perform worldwide,” said Yan Liu. “Especially one day in the future, they must perform in mainland China, to revive our traditional culture, and reignite our values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance on Chinese soil.”
“I also hope that CCP officials and other party members will also give Shen Yun a watch,” said Chang Liu. “This would be a form of salvation for the Chinese people, emotionally, spiritually, and on the level of faith. I’m really looking forward to seeing Shen Yun in mainland China.”
Shen Yun‘s 2025 global tour will begin on Dec. 23, premiering in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nagoya, Japan.
