Shen Yun Performing Arts concluded its highly successful 2024 global tour with a final show in Stamford, Connecticut, on May 12.
From December 2023 to May 2024, the classical Chinese dance company’s eight equally sized companies, each accompanied by a live orchestra, journeyed across five continents to share the beauty of authentic Chinese culture with audiences in over 200 cities.
The performance received praise and accolades everywhere it played.
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who attended the show in Washington, D.C., said Shen Yun was “one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“The costumes—the shades of yellows and turquoises and greens—I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he said.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) said Shen Yun is a performance that should be seen in all corners of the world.
“It was an incredible show and honor to be here,” said Mr. Ryan after seeing Shen Yun at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington on Feb. 2.
“This show should be able to be seen around the world [in] every country.”
Known as the “Land of the Divine,” ancient Chinese society revered its civilization as a heavenly gift. Over millennia, Chinese culture was imbued with the moral and spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, which shaped its values and virtues for 5,000 years.
However, following the communist party’s violent takeover in 1949, China’s traditional culture endured decades of systematic destruction.
New York-based Shen Yun, founded in 2006 by prominent Chinese artists who escaped persecution in their home country, is dedicated to revitalizing this divinely inspired culture to its pre-communist glory.
This mission deeply touched U.S. Congressman Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho).
“I think most of the time, those of us in America tend to look at China as a non-spiritual nation, but in reality, it’s very spiritual. [Shen Yun’s] portrayal displayed that very well,” he said.
“It’s very important for Americans to see this part of China because the vision and the understanding of what we have of China today has very little, if anything, to do with its history. [We should] do what we can to proliferate this message around the country.”
BBC presenter Mark Irvine, who saw Shen Yun for the first time in Glasgow, Scotland, said the performance was “heavenly” and “culturally stimulating.”
“You can feel the beauty, the emotion, the passion—the passion for what is going on onstage—and cultural pride,” he said. “I’m totally in love with the movement, with the color, the flair. It’s just exquisite, … elegance personified.”
The 2024 season marked Shen Yun’s most extensive tour to date. Its performances spanned 43 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. Additionally, the artists visited over 50 European cities and 23 cities across Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Debuting in 21 new cities around the world during the season, the company is actively expanding its reach to a new and diverse audience.
Hiroshi Yano, a Japanese company owner who saw Shen Yun following a deadly earthquake in his country, said that although he was deeply aware of the impermanence of life, the performance gave him hope for a better future.
“Seeing Shen Yun, I felt that I could see hope and light in the darkness and helplessness. This is very important for human beings today,” he said. “It’s really important for us to see such a performance and gain energy from it now.”
Mr. Chang Chun-hung, a senior leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, said after seeing Shen Yun for the third time that he had “absorbed the essence of Shen Yun, and [I] believe the real impact of the performance is just beginning.”
“It will not only save China but save the entire world. I truly admire it,” he said. “I have never had the opportunity to meet [the artists], but if given the chance, I would feel compelled to seek their advice on many matters.”
Famous for their superb techniques and expressive movements, Shen Yun artists are highly trained in classical Chinese dance, an ancient art form that dates back thousands of years, according to the company’s website.
When translated from Chinese, the name “Shen Yun” means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor Wayne Sleep was thoroughly impressed.
“A lot of the steps of what we do, the turning jumps and the extensions—I thought that was traditionally from Russian ballet. But we learned tonight that those jumps and turns originated in China,” said Mr. Sleep, a former dancer with British classical ballet company The Royal Ballet.
“It was faultless. Where do they get all those people? All with such expressive movement, and when [they] finish a line, it almost ripples into the next movement, so it’s never still,” he said.
“And to be able to do that with 20, 30 people onstage, that they all breeze into the next step, … I wish they’d do more of that in the Royal Ballet. It was unique, and it’s something I didn’t expect at all.”
Emmy-award-winning TV producer Joshua Bennett admired Shen Yun’s story-based dances while praised the superb quality of the performances.
“[They’re] telling a very visual story, and I think the fact that [they] had the audience laughing and really enjoying it shows that the story came through. The ideas in the dances and stories were accessible to people,” Mr. Bennett said after seeing Shen Yun at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on April 27.
“I thought the synchronicity of the dancers and the costumes were really beautiful the way they flowed and moved—the combination of that was really special.”
Philip Lieberman, a member of the board of directors of the National Ballet of Canada, noted the deep meanings in Shen Yun’s performances, besides the talent of the artists.
“The message that Shen Yun is bringing to the world is [one] of inclusiveness, of something bigger, that brings us all together. We need that now,” he said after seeing Shen Yun at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto on April 6.
In addition to presenting China’s diverse dynasties, regions, and historical tales through classical Chinese dance and folk and ethnic dances, Shen Yun includes dances that tell storiesto raise awareness about ongoing human rights violations in contemporary China.
Jindrich Ullrich, founder and senior manager of a market research company in the Czech Republic, said he brought his children to the Shen Yun performance so that “they can see with their own eyes or experience a little bit of what is happening currently in communist China.”
“[The artists] don’t give up, and they’re still fighting against [communism.] Communism is a cancer, and you have to keep fighting it. I believe that the good, as we see in the show, will always win in the end,” he said.
After attending a show in Paris, France, financial director Karine Havas shared similar sentiments.
“With the impressive flips and tumbling techniques, lots of colors and sparkles—the show was already very exceptional in its own right,” she said.
“Yet, there is also a deep message you can understand, one that I hadn’t expected before the show. I didn’t think it would be so powerful—full of meaning and beauty.”
In Mexico City, Guillermo Ortega Ruíz, director of El Financiero Television, said after seeing Shen Yun on May 5 that he left the theater with a “peaceful spirit and a full soul.”
In São Paulo, Brazil, Célia Leão, secretary of education for the municipality of Jaguariúna and a former congresswoman, praised the beauty and the “perfection” in Shen Yun.
“It’s incredibly beautiful, delicate, gentle, yet powerfully executed and bold. The spectacle convinces us that anything is possible,” said Ms. Leão, who saw Shen Yun at the Bradesco Theater on May 5.
In Berlin, orchestra conductor Christian Fitzner on April 21 praised the coordination between the different elements of Shen Yun.
“The precision of the coordination between the stage, the projection technology, the choreography, and the music was incredible,” Mr. Fitzner said.
Many audience members appreciated the spiritual elements showcased in the performance.
Marcos Peralta, a senior vice president at MasterCard, said Shen Yun is a very rich and meaningful performance.
“This is one of the best things I’ve seen in a long, long period of time. … It has been wonderful,” Mr. Peralta said after seeing Shen Yun in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27.
“I didn’t expect something like this. … It was really deep,” he said “I felt connected with God several times during the performance.”
Canadian MP Marilyn Gladu said Shen Yun’s display of traditional culture is a source of pride for the Chinese people.
“It was great to see a performance that honors God,” she said, describing the finale dance piece depicting the Creator descending from the heavens to rescue humanity from destruction.
“People today are very stressed, with lots of mental health issues. A little more meditation, a little more kindness to one another—all of these good things, I think, will help take us to a better place,” Ms. Gladu added.
“If you haven’t seen [Shen Yun], you’ve got to see it. It’s something that you will never forget and something that will help you to understand the culture of the Chinese people, who are such a big part of Canada.”
Philip Hunt, the Lord Hunt of Kings Health and a member of the UK House of Lords, said he thought it was “a real honor” to have attended a Shen Yun performance in Birmingham. He said he was “really delighted to see such a wonderful production with, of course, a very important message.”
“I think we saw a production of the very highest quality. I just couldn’t praise it enough. It was simply brilliant,” he said. “It was a real privilege to be here, and I’m very, very grateful. Thank you.”
Swedish member of Parliament Nima Gholam Ali Pour said Shen Yun is an “overwhelming experience.”
“It’s an incredibly impressive show that offers a fuller picture of China as a whole—different from today’s China and the suppression by the Communist Party,” Mr. Gholam Ali Pour said after seeing the performance in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mark Latham, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in Australia, was impressed by Shen Yun’s use of a patented animated backdrop technology that interacts with the performers on the stage.
“It’s amazing to see how they move from real life to the animation, back from the animation to real life. That’s a wonderful skill in itself, so the audience sort of gasps with admiration when that happens,” said Mr. Latham at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on March 8.
“It’s a wonderful service [Shen Yun is] doing for the global community.”
Over its 18-year history, Shen Yun has garnered global acclaim for its enchanting beauty and soul-stirring performances. Featuring a brand-new set of choreography and music performances every year, audiences are always in for a surprise.
As the company’s masters of ceremonies would say, “Just because you’ve seen it once, doesn’t mean you’ve seen it all.”
Reporting by Jennifer Tseng.
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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