SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘A Feast of the Senses’: Former Ballet Dancer Lauds Shen Yun Dancers

Apr 12, 2025

4/12/2025Updated: 4/13/2025

MONTREAL—On April 12, as classical Chinese dancers costumed up to take the stage at Montreal’s Place de Arts, Lori Bogdanis arrived to finally watch the show she’s waited 10 years to see.

She arrived to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based dance company that strives to present “China before communism” and revive the traditions of ancient times.

The Epoch Times caught up with Ms. Bogdanis, who was a ballet dancer for 25 years and is now a communications executive, and she offered her opinions and insights on the show.

“It’s just a feast of the senses. It’s the color, it’s the music, it’s the movement, it’s the acrobatics, it’s the love story, it’s the history,” Ms. Bogdanis told the newspaper. “It’s really amazing. I love it!”

Then she added: “I’ve been looking forward to seeing this for like ten years.”

As a decades-long ballet performer, Ms. Bogdanis says she can really appreciate the athleticism and training that goes into merging so many performers into one seamless unit flowing across the stage. Shen Yun is “beautifully choreographed,” she said.

“It’s different than what I’m used to,” she said. “I’m learning a lot about Chinese music, and movements and dance.”

Watching today’s show, she has also managed to learn something about Shen Yun’s core mission.

The dance company aspires to reconnect with China’s spiritual traditions that have fallen by the wayside—and do so despite today’s officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP) holding power over their homeland.

“The storylines are interesting, the divine and the human and the intersection of them,” Ms. Bogdanis said, speaking of transcendental scenes and of how the communist regime forbade worship.

Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by Chinese expatriates who were persecuted in their homeland for their religious beliefs. They now aspire to “revive a culture that was almost lost,” including China’s traditional values and spiritual foundations. The name “Shen Yun” itself translates to “the beauty of heavenly beings dancing,” invoking ancient spirituality.

Some of the dance segments even show scenes of religious persecution in modern China, depicting CCP officials as characters onstage alongside devout protagonists.

Seeing the Creator on stage at this performance of classical Chinese dance, Ms. Bogdanis says she’s also realized what unites all people.

The scene of the Creator “reminds me a lot of Jesus, and that’s my faith,” she said.

“Humans were meant to aspire to be spiritual. I really believe that.”

Reporting by Weiya Zhen and Michael Wing.

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