SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Second Time Watching Shen Yun and I ‘Did Not Even Blink’

Mar 01, 2024

BENDIGO, Australia—Charlene Le, an insurance broker, travelled two hours from Melbourne to Bendigo with her daughter to see Shen Yun Performing Arts on its 2024 tour of Australia.

“It was actually the second time that I watched Shen Yun, and the feelings, all the emotions were like the very first time,” she expressed.

Ms. Le said she was lucky enough to get the tickets at the Ulumbarra Theatre for the middle seats in the row just behind the orchestra.

There, “all the viewers were like, ‘Wow,’” she described the sensation of being in the front row. “I just get my glasses and watch everything and did not even blink.”

“I was amazed,” she added.

Ms. Le said she was really touched by the themes presented by New York-based Shen Yun and its classically trained dancers.

“All the values that were reflected in the show are really helpful,” she said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture rooted in the Buddhist and Taoist philosophies by presenting to audiences “China before communism.”

The central theme Ms. Le identified in the performance was a reminder to be nice and kind to people.

“It’s just the connection between teamwork and [to] be kind and be nice; all the traditional values got represented so well in all the plays,” she said.

‘Chinese Culture at Its Best’

First Nations leader Rodney Carter attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo, Australia, on March 1, 2024. (NTD) — First Nations leader Rodney Carter attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo, Australia, on March 1, 2024. NTD

Also in the audience on Friday evening was Rodney Carter, the CEO of the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, which is a representative body for the Dja Dja Wurrung People.

Mr. Carter said that as a First Nations person and traditional owner in Central Victoria himself, he could really connect with Shen Yun’s efforts to celebrate and practice traditional culture.

“It’s fantastic to see Chinese culture represented internationally, and for us here in central Victoria, it’s very exciting,” he said. “I think the idea of our cultures and traditions as all peoples around the world is really important for us, to be proud of who we are, and what we’re seeing tonight is an example of Chinese culture at its best.”

What resonated with him from the performance was a vignette called “The Restaurant,” in which a restaurant is almost shut down by a health inspector, spurring its otherwise indifferent employees to rally for success in a display of teamwork and determination.

Mr. Carter said the piece was an example of how people can shape culture through loving each other.

“I think as people, we’re individuals, we’re families, we’ve got problems … [it showed] the importance of supporting each other,” he said of the story, which was just one of many that introduced the audience to the treasured myths and legends, as well as the history of China.

‘Renewing Old Traditions’

Jason McKoy and wife Nadia Friso attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo, Australia, on March 1, 2024. (Beatrice Li/The Epoch Times) — Jason McKoy and wife Nadia Friso attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo, Australia, on March 1, 2024. Beatrice Li/The Epoch Times

Husband and wife business owners Jason McKoy and Nadia Friso commended Shen Yun’s performers on their hard work and training to put together an “impeccable” performance on Friday night.

“The Chinese culture was displayed tonight; the color, the dancing, the old traditions that were then maybe renewed in a different way, and move into the future rather than staying in the past—that’s what I got out of a little bit,” Mr. McKoy shared.

He expressed that the three values—truthfulness 真, compassion 善, and forbearance 忍—promoted by the self-improvement meditation practice called Falun Dafa, which serves as the spiritual inspiration for Shen Yun’s performers, resonated with him as “good ways bring people together and to get over differences.”

“That’s the proper way to behave and the proper way to carry on your life,” he said.

Ms. Friso also said she loved the values celebrated in Shen Yun.

“I love the word compassion; I think that’s very important. If you show compassion in the world, it’s just a better place.”

Mr. McKoy ended by saying that they were grateful to Shen Yun’s director for the work and effort in bringing the world’s premier classical Chinese dance performance to Bendigo.

“[We] enjoyed it greatly,” he said. “Very grateful. Thank you.”

Reporting by Beatrice Li, NTD, and Melanie Sun.

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