SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Gives People Hope’ and ‘Something to Believe In’ Says Musician

Apr 06, 2023

ADELAIDE, Australia—Ella Germein, a professional musician and ABC Kids reporter, and her mother Sue Germein, a music manager, were captivated by the timeless beauty of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Ella Germein professionally plays cello and bass for the indie pop sibling band called “Germein.” The three Germein sisters comprise the band with the youngest sister Georia on vocals, guitar, and keys and her eldest sister Clara on drums. Their mother is the band’s proud music manager.

In 2019 and 2020, the sibling band won the “People’s Choice Pop Award” at the SA Music Awards.

Ms. Germein said she has seen advertisements for Shen Yun on YouTube and around Adelaide, but this was the first performance they were able to attend.

With a busy touring schedule across the UK, she said she was excited to be able to watch the performance at the Festival Theatre on April 6 before returning to London.

“It hasn’t disappointed … it’s beautiful,” she said.

“They’re so slick with their performance … everything looks like water flowing,” she said in regard to the performer’s flowing costumes and dancing colors.

According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s costumes and colors are true to traditional aesthetics and styles, painting each dance piece with the splendor of the past.

“It really catches your eye and you just want to see more and more,” she added, “so it’s really helping tell a story but beautiful to watch visually.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Shen Yun features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments into a classical Western orchestra. Ancient Chinese instruments such as the two-string erhu and the pipa lead the melody amidst the traditional instruments found in a Western orchestra.

“It takes you to a place that you’ve never been before … it makes you time travel,” said Ms. Germein, “that’s what I feel like we’re doing tonight, hearing the traditional music and the traditional instruments.”

“You wouldn’t know it’s an orchestra, you'd think it’s a professional recording,” she added, “the performers are spot on … absolutely flawless!”

Since 2006, Shen Yun has performed at top theatres worldwide with a mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture.

China was once known as “The Land of the Divine” and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdom’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. Demonstrating “China before communism,” the performance often includes spiritually uplifting messages, according to the company’s website.

“To see the stories and learn the history—what happened in the past and what’s happening now—it really opens your eyes,” said Ms. Germein.

“I had a tear in my eye watching it because it was so heartfelt and heartwarming,” she added, “it gives people hope and … something to believe in which is really beautiful.”

Reporting by Rachel Qu, Julia Ye, and Jennifer Schneider.

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