Shen Yun ‘An Experience Never to Be Forgotten,’ Says Company Director
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Andrea Moss enjoyed Shen Yun at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, UK, on Jan. 18, 2025. NTD
MANCHESTER, UK—Andrea Moss, a company director, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time and left with the feeling that everyone in the world should see this performance.
“Absolutely phenomenal, absolutely adored it. It was a first for me to come to something to do with dance—I’m a musician—but something with dance was a first for me, and I never looked back. Adored it,” she said at the Palace Theatre on Jan. 18.
“You’ve got to come. You must come. You must experience it for yourself. Cameras don’t do it justice. You have to be there. ”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, as it has grown immensely in size and popularity since its inception in 2006.
With a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—China before communism—Shen Yun’s productions are by some measures extravagant, with a new program each year, brilliantly colored couture costumes based on ancient Chinese clothing, an orchestra blending East and West, an animated backdrop set, and more.
“Colorful. Immense. Just an experience never to be forgotten,” Ms. Moss said, describing her experience.
A violinist herself, Ms. Moss lauded the orchestra and shared her surprise at the solo performance by an erhu soloist featuring the ancient Chinese two-stringed instrument sometimes dubbed the “Chinese violin.”
“The depth of the experience of the orchestra is the thing. It is beautiful to have the live music along with the repertoire of the dancers, something to behold, it’s beautiful,” she said. “To hear [the erhu] for the first time, it’s another level. It should replace the violin. It’s absolutely beautiful. It was absolutely splendid. I enjoyed it. Thank you.”
She added that she was grateful to the artists for accomplishing what they had and wanted to share that as well: “You made my evening. You made my year. Thank you.”
Ms. Moss expressed her support for Shen Yun’s mission and her admiration for their success in it.
“I just think it’s unbelievable. I think it’s just amazing,” she said.
Shen Yun Is ‘Energetic But Very Calming’
Also experiencing Shen Yun for the first time that evening was Shweta Srivastava, program head of a tech company, who said she felt both energized and calm during the performance.
“Absolutely phenomenal,” she said. “It was energetic but very calming. Beautiful.”
Shweta Srivastava enjoyed Shen Yun at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, UK, on Jan. 18, 2025. NTD
A person of faith herself, Ms. Srivastava said she enjoyed seeing Shen Yun bring out the spiritual nature of the traditional Chinese culture, a culture the ancients held was divinely inspired.
Ms. Srivastava said she thought Shen Yun’s display of spirituality was especially important for younger generations, and was glad she brought her daughter to the performance, allowing her to witness beauty a world apart from the mix of messages young people are exposed to nowadays.
“It was lovely to see that because of the way things are right now in the world. This theme of divinity, and you know how dance is being used to talk about it and spread the message. It was lovely,” she said. “I did connect very much with that.”
