SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Leaves Lasting Impression on Family in Oxford

Jan 24, 2025

OXFORD, UK—Shen Yun Performing Arts inspired many in the audience at the New Theatre on Jan. 23, including Neo and Pamela Winter, who brought their children and Mr. Winter’s mother.

Neo Winter, a barrister, said, “It’s beautiful, yes. Very beautiful and insightful.”

“I enjoyed the Pigsy and Monkey [story]. It’s a story that I know well, and it was nice to see the culture of China being rescued from China and brought to the West through an unusual gateway,“ he said. ”So I really enjoyed it, as did my children.”

Daughters Yuri and Dharma loved the colors of the dancers’ costumes and settings.

“They’re absolutely gorgeous,” said Yuri. “I love all of the outfits and even the background scenery and the flowy dancing stuff,” said Yuri. The digital backdrop interacts with the dancers as they seem to disappear and then fly up into the sky.

Dharma chimed in. “Oh, I loved it. It’s amazing! Great dancers, great performers, great outfits. ... Loved all the colors. So it’s really great,” she said.

Mr. Winter, a Buddhist, said he felt personally touched by the values of ancient China. He saw the big difference between the rich culture of traditional China and the modern country controlled by communism and said ancient China was “rich and peaceful and spiritual. Divine.”

He said the performance’s depiction of the Divine “shows that people live with more of a connection to the spiritual, rather than just the mundane and the material. So I enjoyed it.”

Mrs. Winter is an acupuncturist. “Actually, the acupuncture that I practice is also from before the communist era [in China],” she said.

A live orchestra with a combination of Eastern and Western instruments plays during Shen Yun’s performances, which Yuri enjoyed.

“I absolutely love music,“ she said. ”Seeing the orchestra like that is absolutely amazing. All of the instruments, some of them, are so exotic to me. And when you put it all together, it creates this really intricate network [of sound].”

To express his gratitude to the Shen Yun performers, Mr. Winter spoke to them in Mandarin: “xie, xie (thank you).”

Mrs. Winter also congratulated the performers.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,“ she said. ”I used to do ballet until I was about 18, and their skill and expertise are absolutely astounding. It’s incredible. It’s beautiful to see. Their skill and techniques—amazing!”

Reporting by Mary Man and Yvonne Marcotte

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