SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

London Audience Member Says the People of China Would Love Shen Yun

Mar 02, 2022

LONDON, U.K.—China is a place that has thousands of years of history, but when looking at China today, many people only see the current communist regime. Luckily with Shen Yun Performing Arts, audiences around the world have been able to see how glorious and spiritual China was before the communist revolution.

John Rickard travels to China frequently for business. He compared his experience of watching performing arts in China and commented that “the difference with [Shen Yun is] it’s beautiful and had a message, which was lovely to see.”

While China has kept many of the surface elements of Chinese culture, the spiritual meaning behind those elements has been repressed and lost.

Mr. Rickard commended New York-based Shen Yun on their effort in presenting the rich and vibrant culture of China to the world.

“I thought it was excellent. The color is stunning, it’s very attractive, the writing is beautiful as well,” he said.

He added that if Shen Yun was able to perform in China, he was sure that the people there would love it.

“It’s a shame it doesn’t spread. I’ve been going to China quite a lot—I love the people and the people are great! They would love this show, they really would, and I think they would all support the message behind it. I truly believe they would,” Mr. Rickard said.

From his experience in China, Mr. Rickard is aware of the censorship and the lack of free media.

“If you have a controlled media, then you cannot spread the truth of the word, and I speak to my friends in China, they just don’t even know their own history sometimes, which is a great shame. I know more than they do and it’s their country, but it’s simply because they don’t have a free press,” he said.

This is why the mission of Shen Yun is important. While the seven companies of Shen Yun are touring around the world, people outside of China are becoming aware of the magnificence of their own country before communism, as well as the current events happening inside the country that are being censored.

“If shows like this can go around the world, people do talk, and they do spread messages. I talk to my friends there and gradually you can spread the word to let them know it was different sometime before, and hopefully can change again,” Mr. Rickard said.

“The stories are beautiful, and it’s interesting that you dare to touch on some of the more difficult elements of it. It was great that you were bold enough to do that, and it’s good that I think people should know, they should know more of what’s going on,” he added.

One Shen Yun piece tells the story of Falun Gong, a practice that once prospered in China before the regime felt threatened by its popularity. Falun Gong is a meditation that benefits the mind and body, with practitioners abiding by the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance in their daily lives.

“I know what’s been going on in China, but a lot of English people don’t. You touched on subjects here that a lot of people won’t be aware of, especially with some of the clampdown on Falun Gong.

“This show will explain just what is happening which is great, it needs to be known because it’s a beautiful country and people should be allowed to express their thoughts and beliefs which are completely harmless, and they’re beautiful thoughts and beliefs, so they should be allowed to prosper,” said Mr. Rickard.

Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.