SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘Shen Yun Is Best Show in the World’: Leading Korean Dance Professor

Feb 19, 2023

SEOUL, South Korea—A top ballet professor said Shen Yun Performing Arts is the best show in the world after seeing it at the National Theater of Korea on Feb. 18.

“Especially the male dancers. Their skills and techniques are very outstanding. Their expressiveness is superb! The female dancers are very elegant and enchanting. This is the best show in the world,” said Ms. Choi So-bin.

Ms. Choi is a professor and the director of the dance department of Dankook University. She is a choreographer, a director of the Korean Ballet Association, a director of the Korean Ballet Research Society, and a director of the Korean Future Dance Society. She was the gold award winner of the Korean Ballet Association Dance Competition 1989, and the winner of the Presidential Award and Best Acting Award at the National Dance Festival of the Republic of Korea in 2009.

The leading dance professional said she enjoyed Shen Yun a lot.

“Shen Yun Performing Arts is amazing! It presented Chinese history through dances, music, and the excellent dynamic backdrop. I’m so glad that I attended,” she said. “I learned Chinese history. At the same time, I enjoyed and was moved by the art.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of “China before communism.” For 5,000 years China’s civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

A Shen Yun performance consists of more than a dozen vignettes, and Ms. Choi said she enjoyed each program.

“The first program is the beginning of history. Then there was one after another, short and essential programs. In the end, [the story-based dance] presented current China and the future. There are coherences among them. I love it very much,” she said.

I love the format of using dance to tell the stories. I also love the fast-paced structure.

— Professor Choi So-bin

Ms. Choi said the programming was perfection. “I love the format of using dance to tell the stories. I also love the fast-paced structure. The music matches the dances very well, which really helped us to understand the dances.”

Ms. Choi said Shen Yun is like its name, which means the “beauty of divine beings dancing.”

“Shen Yun is very beautiful. Both male dancers and female dancers are very beautiful. The original music and dynamic backdrop are beautiful,” she said. “It’s really pleasant to attend Shen Yun.”

Ms. Choi said she admires the Shen Yun Artistic Director and wants to invite him to visit Dankook University.

“I really admire him for creating this art form that is so close to the public. I was very moved,” she said. “Everything of Shen Yun, including the backdrop, music, and dancers’ performance, coordinated perfectly. I’m very happy that I could be here.”

Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.

‘It’s Amazing to Make This Happen’

“The dancers danced together as if they were one person. Their movements were synchronized accurately. It’s amazing to make this happen. They are not only one or two dancers [dancing in sync], they are many,” said Mr. Yoo Young-ho, the president of an electronics manufacturer. “[I believe] every dancer considered all other dancers when dancing. Then they could achieve this effect.”

Mr. Yoo said he was very touched when he thought about the extraordinary teamwork of Shen Yun dancers. The performance was beyond his expectations.

“It’s really majestic! The stage and the backdrop complete each other to make it incredibly good. The live orchestra plays wonderfully and matches the dances wonderfully,” he said. “It’s really spectacular! Really amazing!”

Mr. Yoo said the female dancers were formidably excellent, and his wife said the male dancers were magnificent. Both of them agreed that Shen Yun dancers were far beyond any other they had seen.

Mr. Yoo suggested everybody attend Shen Yun because “I can’t describe how great this performance is. You really need to attend by yourself,” he said.

He said he was excited to learn that Shen Yun has a new production every year. “I can’t wait to attend next year’s show.”

Mr. Yoo Young-ho, the president of an electronics manufacturer, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 18, 2023. (Lee You-jung/The Epoch Times) — Mr. Yoo Young-ho, the president of an electronics manufacturer, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 18, 2023. Lee You-jung/The Epoch Times

The Shen Yun 2023 season will be its biggest yet, with its eight equally sized touring companies set to visit more than 180 cities across five continents.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Seoul, South Korea.

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