SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Montgomery Theatergoer Mesmerized by Shen Yun

Feb 14, 2024

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Meg Varney is a professor and a writing specialist in the communication lab at a university, but after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts, she found herself challenged to find words to express her thoughts on the performance.

“I can hardly express my words after watching this because I feel I was mesmerized by the whole show. And I especially appreciated the storyline ... a lot of the cultural stories and the historical stories and the comedy stories to really get more insight and learn about those historical aspects of China,” said Ms. Varney.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Each season, Shen Yun creates and rehearses an all-new production to share with audiences around the world.

“I think you could see the passion of the performers. I could feel the passion of the composers and the choreographers and the work they have put into the meticulous design of the show,” said Ms. Varney.

Each story and each dance that Shen Yun puts on stage holds a piece of China’s traditions. Ms. Varney found herself chasing after every detail so as to not miss a single bit of it.

“I couldn’t look away. I needed to see everything. I was mesmerized. I felt like every moment I had to not miss anything, and so I was on the edge of my seat watching,” she said.

Shen Yun’s costumes are all handcrafted and tailored to fit each dancer. The designs are historically inspired or come from the traditional garb of the ethnic groups depicted.

“The colors were stunning, and the fabrics—I don’t know what kind of magical fabric they were always using, but it’s just flowing perfectly and spinning, and so I was just really entranced,” said Ms. Varney.

After meticulous rehearsal of each dance and each piece of music, the final product presented on stage is flawless art.

“I couldn’t pick out anything that didn’t seem perfect. And so, to do all that, I just admire their dedication, their skill, their artistry, and how everyone is just working together cohesively. So it was just a very impressive display of all the work that everyone has put into the show,” said Ms. Varney.

Ms. Varney added that on top of performing, Shen Yun is traveling around the world. She expressed her gratitude to the artists for their dedication.

“I want to say thank you for all the effort that you put in. I’m sure it’s more than we see here. There’s all the preparation and the rehearsals and the traveling. Traveling is exhausting,” she said.

One scene that particularly resonated with Ms. Varney was the dance that depicted the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Despite over two decades of persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have remained steadfast in their faith.

“It particularly resonated with me, the different scenes that showed the oppression that people have faced. And we see that commonly around the world, that people are often being oppressed for their faith or their beliefs or their philosophies. That part felt a bit sad, but also it resonated,” she said.

Reporting by Nancy Ma 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.