SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Education Specialist Feels Shen Yun Artists’ ‘Souls Coming Out in the Performance’

Jan 13, 2025

BERKELEY—Jane Milan felt “enlightened” after seeing Shen Yun at Zellerbach Hall on Jan. 12. “The performance is absolutely amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it; I’m just being enlightened to the beautiful dance techniques.”

Ms. Milan was very impressed by the Shen Yun dancers. “It’s mind-boggling to see what they can do and the beauty. You can obviously tell they have studied and know this at the soul level. It’s not just a dance. You can feel their souls coming out in their performances. It’s unbelievable!”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. It was established in 2006 by Chinese artists who fled persecution in China. Through personal experience, the artists know how important it is to preserve the traditional culture; therefore, they made reviving traditional Chinese culture the mission of Shen Yun. Through dance and music, Shen Yun is bringing this almost-lost culture to life on stage for the world to see.

Ms. Milan appreciated this mission. “They’re preserving [the culture] and keeping it alive in a very real way. So people like me who have not had any exposure [to the culture] can actually be brought into this beautiful culture. And it inspired me, I wanted to learn more. I think that fostering people’s curiosity is an amazing gift that they’re giving us.”

Ms. Milan, a dyslexia education specialist owning a private practice, loved Shen Yun’s unique way of storytelling.

“It draws everybody in,” she said. “This is something that I would hope we could get more young people to see, because when you watch the internet you don’t get this beauty, you don’t get the feeling and the connection. I would love to see younger children get to experience this.”

Shen Yun’s dance drama that depicts the persecution of Falun Gong in China moved Ms. Milan.

“We often will hear about the persecution but watching them live it out in dance was a reminder of the humanity of what people are going through. It was very touching,” she said.

Through Shen Yun, Ms. Milan gained an understanding of Chinese culture.

“The way [Shen Yun] lay out the beauty of the history and the struggles that are still taking place today [gave me] an understanding of the culture,” she said.

She said she thought the effect of Shen Yun’s performances was beyond the theater.

“It is a bringing together of not just culture but also passion, art, and storytelling that transcends language. There is no talking other than the two moderators, but through their dance, they’re having an impact [that is] beyond what is seen.”

Reporting by Lily Yu and Sophia Fang.

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