New York-based Shen Yun begins its highly anticipated 2025 European tour with Italy as its first destination. On Christmas day, after a transatlantic flight, artists of Shen Yun Performing Arts arrived at Milan Malpensa Airport. They were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of fans with cheers and flowers.
Piotr Huang, a principal dancer for Shen Yun Performing Arts, said, “I feel very excited. We’ve been busy rehearsing over the past six months, all in preparation to present a brand-new program for everyone. We’ve also been eagerly looking forward to seeing our European audience again, so I’m really thrilled.”
“Just arrived and I’m very excited. And I know that Italy is very steeped in history and culture from all ranges of genres. So, I’m very honored to be here,” said Eric Robins, a trumpet player for Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Lillian Parker, female Principal Dancer for Shen Yun Performing Arts, said, “I think every time I come to Europe, I’m always so inspired by how beautiful it is and by the history. So I really hope that through our performances, I can give some of that back to the audience.”
The name Shen Yun can be translated as “The beauty of divine beings dancing.” Through music and dance, Shen Yun aims to revive the glory of divinely inspired Chinese culture. This relationship between Shen Yun’s art and spirituality was also explained by the artists.
“I think that art itself exists to glorify the divine. In ancient Italian art, especially during the Renaissance, this characteristic is particularly prominent. Shen Yun is essentially doing the same thing—reviving tradition. I also hope that through our performances, we can inspire people’s inherent kindness and their divine nature within,” said Huang.
“You could say our music is divinely inspired. It’s got these melodies that are told directly from the perspective of portraying all of these traditional, like I said, ethnic dances or traditional stories,” said Robins.
According to the artists, the audience can expect to obtain profound benefits from watching a Shen Yun performance.
Parker said, “I think since Shen Yun shows the very spiritual side of Chinese culture, it sort of gives people that hope or that inspiration to find that goodness in themselves again.”
As Shen Yun’s Italian tour approaches, Italy’s political leaders have extended their warm greetings. Federico Rocca, councilor of Rome said, “Another extraordinary tour of Shen Yun is about to begin in our country. They will surely amaze Italian audiences once again, with their artistry and mastery.”
Aikaterini Angelakopoulou, the Italy Performance Organizer of Shen Yun Performing Arts, said, “I am very moved by their arrival. It is a great joy that I feel in my heart this hope that they will bring here to Italy. A message that we very often hear from the audience that it is a show that changes their lives. This show brings them great hope and they are really very happy to see it again year after year.”
Over the next 5 months of the 2025 tour season, Shen Yun will perform for more than 600,000 people across 14 European countries. Beginning in Florence, Italy, audiences in 61 cities will have the opportunity to experience Shen Yun’s marvel firsthand.
NTD News, Milan, Italy
