SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Milton Keynes Theatergoer: The Power of the Dance Is Unbelievable

Jan 18, 2024

MILTON KEYNES, U.K.—Some dancers give the illusion of defying gravity for a split second when they leap into the air, and that’s exactly what Elizabeth Airton and her husband, Paul Airton, thought when they saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

“The power of the dance is unbelievable. It’s when the dancers go into mid-air, it’s almost as if they’re on strings. They slow down. The power is fantastic,” said Mr. Airton, an incident management governor at an IT computer center.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the world’s most athletic and expressive dance forms.

“I really enjoyed it because every dance told a story,” said Mrs. Airton, a sheltered housing officer.

Each story Shen Yun tells originates from Chinese history, literature, or the various ethnic minorities throughout China, such as the Mongolians or the Manchurians. Each dance has been carefully rehearsed until it can be presented to the audience flawlessly.

“I enjoyed every single bit of it. I enjoyed the dance, the costumes, the technicolor—it was just so magnificent. It was funny—there was humor in it. It was fabulous. A lot of hard work has gone into that,” praised Mrs. Airton.

Shen Yun has eight companies touring the world simultaneously, and every company has its own orchestra.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen this, and I thought it was wonderful. I thought the music was brilliant; the orchestra [members] were fantastic,” said Mr. Airton.

‘Storytelling Without Limits’

The unique way Shen Yun uses its digital backdrop is patented, and the Shen Yun website tells us that: “By extending the stage to infinite realms, the projection allows storytelling without limits.”

“I thought it was fabulous the way you did the backdrop, and when the dancers were kind of jumping down, and they’re going swimming, or they were coming [on stage],” said Mrs. Airton.

Chinese civilization goes back 5,000 years, and dynasty after dynasty, the culture was colorful and rich. However, the past century has seen the destruction of this culture by the Chinese Communist Party. Shen Yun has made it its mission to revive that culture and let the world see what China was like before communism.

“I learned a lot about how the history and the theology of ancient China is being suppressed by the communist regime,” said Mr. Airton.

The oppression that Mr. Airton mentioned still exists in China today. Shen Yun tells the story of Falun Gong practitioners being oppressed for their faith.

“That’s very sad. And nobody should be allowed to oppress or stop any of us from being who we are and whatever culture or religion—as long as it’s good. You can’t stop people’s choices,” said Mrs. Airton.

Reporting by Chloe Xiao and Maria Han.

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