SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Dancers’ ‘Choreography Was Amazing,’ Says Professional Dancer

Feb 28, 2025

LAS VEGAS—Professional dancer Jessica Olsen and her father Doug Bean, enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts together on Feb. 28 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The duo thought it was an incredible experience.

Mrs. Olsen, in particular, was very impressed by Shen Yun dancers’ tumbling technique and said, “It was really amazing.”

“I thought it looked really effortless. I know how hard it is, and the dancers definitely made it look very effortless. I could tell that they’re classically trained, they were on point with the musicality,” she exclaimed.

“The choreography was amazing. It was really cool with the props and with the sleeves. The movements that they did—that was beautiful.”

Mrs. Olsen added that the stunning costumes played a crucial role in the storytelling, enhancing the performance beautifully.

“That’s the most important part. I thought how the costume hit the light with the different sequences and sparkles was really clever. … You could tell it was distinct from different dance to dance, it told a different story.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun artists are masters of classical Chinese dance, an ancient and highly expressive art form dating back thousands of years.

Unlike the modern, military-influenced styles often seen in China today, Shen Yun preserves and performs this tradition in its most authentic form, as it was originally passed down through generations.

Established in 2006, the company is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company dedicated to reviving China’s rich culture nearly lost under decades of communist rule.

The name “Shen Yun” translates directly into “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” and Mr. Bean couldn’t agree more with this description.

“It was really interesting to know the meaning of Shen Yun, and how everything that they did really embody that theme,” he said. “It’s such a wholesome show.”

“I read in the program that this group was trying to revive the historical Chinese dances and art forms. … We have a good friend—and she didn’t want to come because she thought that the troupe was affiliated with the Chinese government. We’re going to encourage her to come because it’s obviously not.”

Though Shen Yun is beloved by audiences worldwide, its commitment to reviving traditional culture and raising awareness of ongoing human rights issues in China has led to its ban by the ruling Chinese regime.

Summarizing his experience, Mr. Bean said he was “very pleasantly surprised at just how talented everybody was.”

“All the music was original and the fact they create a new show every year—I would definitely encourage other people to see it. You learn a lot. We know a little bit about Chinese culture just because we see it here and there, but I love the way [Shen Yun] told stories,” he said.

Mrs. Olsen also enjoyed the solo performance by the erhu—a 4,000-year-old Chinese instrument that is reminiscent of the human voice. Though it only has two strings, it is capable of expressing a wide range of emotions.

“It was absolutely amazing, and the performance was flawless. I felt very peaceful, and I really enjoyed it,” she commented. “I think that the string instrument definitely pulled at my heartstrings. It was just very peaceful and very beautiful.”

Her biggest takeaway from the performance is “how beautiful the Chinese culture is, and how amazing it is to preserve art like dance and music, and to keep those things going for the next generations to come.”

Reporting by Linda Jiang and Jennifer Tseng.

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