SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is ‘Spellbinding’: Youth Music Venture President

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Shen Yun Is ‘Spellbinding’: Youth Music Venture President
Ian Grace saw Shen Yun Performing Arts in the Gold Coast, Australia, on March 14, 2025. NTD
Epoch Newsroom
Updated:

GOLD COAST, Australia—Ian Grace, the founder and president of a youth music venture, was left spellbound by Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“It’s spellbinding,” he said of the March 14 matinee show at the Home of the Arts.

“To see something that’s so traditional and coming from New York—I was surprised. And I thought, wow, that is absolutely amazing.”

Mr. Grace runs a music program for youths aged 11 to 16 that brings together talented young musicians to form bands and receive mentorship from professional artists.

He is also a business leader and mentor, and dedicates much of his time to the local community. This has earned him the 2024 Queensland Volunteer of the Year and 2022 Gold Coast Volunteer of the Year awards.

The world’s premier classical Chinese dance show features multiple pieces that depict various myths and legends that draw from China’s 5,000 years of civilization,

“If you look at our English civilization compared to this, there isn’t that same tradition in art and music and expression,” Mr. Grace said.

“So that’s why it is so wonderful to see [Shen Yun] and see so much feeling—so much depth of feeling.”
Some of these stories almost moved him to tears.

“At one stage, I was almost having a little tear because you’re living the story as you’re going through it,” Mr. Grace said.

“You watch the good, the bad, and watch how things unfold.

“The whole thing is fascinating.”

The storytelling is heightened by the patented digital animated backdrop, which allows dancers to seamlessly move between the stage and the screen.

“That’s magic,” he said.

“They go [into the screen], and then they’re flying ... It’s not real, but it looks real. That, to me, is just amazing.

Mr. Grace excitedly urged everyone to watch Shen Yun.

“You’ve got to see it. It’s spellbinding, it’s awesome, it’s traditional, it’s heartwarming. It’s all of those things—you have to see it.”

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