SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is Amazing ‘It Brought Tears to My Eyes,’ Says Canadian Physician

Apr 12, 2025

4/12/2025Updated: 4/12/2025

VANCOUVER—Dr. Marjan Charkhsaz, a family physician, was deeply inspired by Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 11.

“Amazing. I love this,” she exclaimed. “It was very good—everything was art, everything was colorful. I’m always using black, so I was inspired to use colors.”

“In modern countries, we are all using dark colors. Colors are gone, happiness is gone. So, [Shen Yun] brought the joy, and I’m thinking we have to bring more colors and art in our lives to bring happiness [to] humanity.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun 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 performance is comprised of a series of short pieces that take its audience on a ride through the dynasties and across the vast regions of China. Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, the artists tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Dr. Charkhsaz wasn’t familiar with classical Chinese dance, but after seeing Shen Yun, she immediately fell in love with it. She was surprised to learn that many of the tumbling and flipping techniques seen in acrobatics and gymnastics actually originated from classical Chinese dance. “I love it,” she said.

She also appreciated the portrayal of China’s divinely inspired culture and felt that its traditions are “deep and strong.”

“I really like when they did the meditation [traveling between] heaven, earth—they were talking about humanity being together. So, all nice,” Dr. Charkhsaz, referring to the story-based dance about a monk who remained steadfast in his faith despite worldly temptations and ultimately achieves enlightenment.

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.

However, because the company is dedicated to reviving traditional culture and shedding light on the realities of life under communist rule in modern China, Shen Yun is currently banned from performing there.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” Dr. Charkhsaz said.

“That’s sad. That’s against humanity. It should be resolved. Life needs to be free; people need to be free and be able to do what they like to do.”

The message she’ll be taking home with her from Shen Yun is that “we need all to be together— union, happiness, work together—we have to make sure that the government can’t destroy us.”

Reporting by Lily Yu 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.