SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Fairfax Theatergoers Praise Shen Yun: ‘What We Saw Was so Vibrant, so Alive’

Jan 22, 2024

FAIRFAX, Va.—Cecelia Aldrete and Jim McVay watched Shen Yun at George Mason University Center for the Arts on Jan. 21. It was their first time seeing the performance, and they were able to enjoy it from their front-row seats.

“The show was amazing,” said Ms. Aldrete, a retired educator. “They were exceptionally talented, the orchestra and the dancers. Very high energy, so colorful, and we love the stories that they told through their dance.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception in 2006, Shen Yun Performing Arts has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, realizing their mission to revive traditional Chinese culture and present the beauty of China before communism.

Shen Yun’s live orchestra combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments. Ms. Aldrete said that seeing the erhu—a Chinese instrument with only two strings—was a special moment for her. She described the instrument as “very unique and beautiful.”

Mr. McVay, a real estate broker, expressed his appreciation for the performers.

“What I appreciated most was the history … the expression, the dance, and the music, [and] also the stories. The things were tied together, and that was meaningful to me. And certainly, the artists’ ability. They’re so accomplished in what they do. I very much appreciated that. [I] could even see their smiling so often … they seemed to be enjoying what they were doing.”

Both Ms. Aldrete and Mr. McVay also said that they liked Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, which allows performers to move seamlessly between the stage and background.

“That was very seamless and magical,” said Mr. McVay. “I had never seen that combination of the digital background and the performers and how it was so helpful for me to be able to see the whole picture.”

Shen Yun also includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the perseverance of followers of faith who are persecuted by the Chinese regime for their beliefs. Mr. McVay said that despite the depiction of the persecution, he saw a message of hope in Shen Yun’s performance.

“That’s what’s going on in China today, and yet what we saw was so vibrant, so alive, I don’t know whether to call it hope or a strong wish that this culture could flourish.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Wandi Zhu.

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