SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Las Vegas Theatergoers Call Shen Yun ‘Beautiful’

Mar 02, 2025

LAS VEGAS—Ryan Smoke, a designer, and Jocelyn Tan, an administrator, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts on March 1.

“It was beautiful,” Mr. Smoke said. “As a designer, I could definitely appreciate the aesthetic nature of it; the vibrant color and the costumes, and everything was really wonderful.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception, Shen Yun has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour around the world simultaneously, reviving traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the beauty of “China before communism.”

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith. Mr. Smoke said that seeing the depiction of the persecution reminded him that “we’re very blessed to be here and to live here [America] and definitely don’t take it for granted.”

Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrops, which allow performers to move seamlessly between the stage and the background, stood out to Mr. Smoke.

“That was really cool,” he said. “That was definitely a surprise. [It was] really interactive and cool to see how it evolved over the course of the show too and how they used it.”

The choreography and the dancers’ athleticism and techniques impressed Mr. Smoke as well.

“The height that they were getting on some of those flips was insane,” Mr. Smoke said. “They’re very graceful and beautiful. I think the integration of the costumes was really cool too. Like the flowy-ness of a lot of the garments and the sleeves [were] unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Ms. Tan said that what she enjoyed the most was learning about the culture behind each dance and the songs performed in the traditional bel canto style. The song lyrics, which urged a reconnection with the divine, resonated with both Ms. Tan and Mr. Smoke who are both Christian.

“In terms of faith and believing in a Creator, [we] of course appreciate anything that ties to that,” Mr. Smoke said. “In a world that [has] a culture that does not value that idea, it’s definitely cool to see that.”

Reporting by Linda Jiang 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.