SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

School Owner Says Shen Yun’s Revival of Traditional Culture, ‘A Lesson for us All’

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School Owner Says Shen Yun’s Revival of Traditional Culture, ‘A Lesson for us All’
Nick Paterson at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, U.K., on Jan. 13, 2024. NTD

WOKING, U.K.—Seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the New Victoria Theatre was “one of the most extraordinary evenings of my life,” said Nick Paterson.

Mr. Paterson, owner of Woodcote House School for Boys, said he was “absolutely blown away” by the performance on Jan. 13.

“I’ve seen a lot of theatre in my time, and [Shen Yun] ranks right at the top!”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added. “I thought the dancing was fantastic [and] the special effects are extraordinary.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.
Shen Yun also features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments into a classical Western orchestra, a patented animated backdrop technology that allows for seamless interaction between the dancers on stage and the background scenery, and colorful handmade costumes.

Mr. Paterson said the values of truth, compassion, and tolerance demonstrated in the dance stories really resonated with him and should be espoused in England as well.

He said the boys at his school could benefit from learning how “to be compassionate, to be kind, to respect the elders, and to be more aware of everybody rather than just themselves.”

A Lost Culture Returns

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture after it came close to death under the tyranny of communism following the seizure of power by the Chinese communist regime in 1949. The company says its performance demonstrates “China before communism.”
Shen Yun’s revival of traditional culture, said Mr. Paterson, is “a lesson for us all.”

“What was really lovely was that everything was done with a smile … and from the heart,” he said. “That makes so much difference.”

China was once known as “The Land of the Divine,” and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdom’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art.

Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, according to the company’s website.

Every year, Shen Yun presents an entirely new show with new choreography, music, and costumes.

“The fact that it’s going to be done totally differently next year is just wonderful,” said Mr. Paterson. “We will be back!”

“I would love to bring some boys from high school to see it!”

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