SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Conveys Hope and Beauty, Say Ottawa Patrons

Apr 20, 2025

4/20/2025Updated: 4/20/2025

OTTAWA, Ontario—Golf course owner Glen Costell has dance training and an eye for footwork, so he watches dance performance carefully and tries to see if someone makes a mistake, but there were none in Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“I loved watching their foot movements. Trying to see them mistakes. There was no mistakes. They all went the same distance. The synchronicity was just unbelievable. It was fantastic,” said Mr. Costell after seeing Shen Yun with a group at the National Arts Centre on April 19. “It’s beautiful to watch.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, credited with revitalizing the ancient art form. The performing arts company was founded in 2006 with a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—what audiences have come to know as “China before communism.”

Like many audience members, Mr. Costell found it incomprehensible that Shen Yun, something so beautiful, could not be seen in China, where the culture it presents originated.

“Hopefully someday,” Mr. Costell said.

Several patrons saw themes of hope in Shen Yun, among them Jenny Bingham, Lisa LeBrun, David Girard, and Bobby Bellemarre, who attended the April 19 performance as a group.

“It was great. Inspiring,” said Mr. Girard, who enjoyed the wide range of stories told through dance and felt the performance gave “a little bit of everything” in emotional range. There were ups and downs, and “it keeps you moving emotionally,” he said. Some of the stories were darker, he added, but there was always light at the end.

“It definitely gives you hope. It was uplifting. I like how it ends well. Makes you feel good when you finish. It kind of makes you feel better,” he said.

Music is a big part of Ms. LeBrun’s life, and the music of Shen Yun gave her some of the most moving experiences, she said.

“It’s very beautiful. I found it very moving. I like the music, and the singing was probably one of the most moving things that I’ve felt. I got goosebumps on my arms,” she said.

Ms. Bingham added that she was amazed by what the dancers could convey without words.

“I found it so powerful the way they were able to convey the message through the movement so well. Then they practically flew in the air. I had goosebumps in various periods when they were going in circles,” she said.

Other moments took her breath away for different reasons, she said, describing one of the story-based dances, a famous Chinese folk tale involving star-crossed lovers and divine intervention. “I actually had a tear,” she said.

She gleaned positive themes from Shen Yun and saw the value of the traditional culture the artists sought to revive.

“I’m very happy that they are bringing back the traditions, let people know and realize what’s going on now and what was before because we always remember,” she said, “When we remember our roots, then we’re more proud and we realize, okay, our future always depends on the back, in a sense.”

She felt these themes were prominent in the finale.

“I found there’s a lot of hope in it and a reminder that when we’re being good and kind, we will be well delivered, we will be saved in a sense, so it’s always worth being a good person, individual, not just for ourselves, but for our communities, for everyone as well,” she said.

Reporting by Weiya Yang, Donna Liang, and Catherine Yang.

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