SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Opens Minds to Different Cultures and People, Says Psychologist

Apr 21, 2024

MONTREAL, Canada—Isabel Igreja, a psychologist, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts on April 20 and brought her 86-year-old mother, who had seen the performance before.

“The show is lovely,” said Ms. Igreja, who was seeing it for the first time. “It’s lovely to see the acrobatics. The costumes are very pretty. ... It really makes one feel good watching it.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now, with eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously every year, Shen Yun is carrying out its mission to revive traditional Chinese culture and the beauty of China before communism.

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith.

Ms. Igreja said that while the persecution was something very sad, there was beauty to be found in that sadness, and there was hope, also. As a psychologist, she saw great importance in the values and emotions being conveyed through the stories told on stage, she added.

“I value all emotions because, as human beings, we feel an array of feelings,” said Ms. Igreja. “Even feeling the sadness in that story makes us feel for the people who have different beliefs but were not allowed to act on their spirituality. So, that’s not so nice. But it makes us feel for the Chinese people. The Chinese are not able to do that. So, that’s lovely. I didn’t know so much about that. So, I’m also learning.”

Ms. Igreja said she believes the arts are a fantastic way to “learn about a culture that, as Montrealers, we may not know about.”

Referring to the music performed by Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which uniquely combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments, she said this fusion enhances the performance and the audience’s learning experience.

“We can tell that it’s the music that goes with that culture and that dance, and it has history. So it’s nice to hear some of the sounds that we don’t always hear from musical instruments that we don’t always hear in different cultures.”

Ms. Igreja felt that Shen Yun is a performance that is beneficial for children, families, the city, and even the country.

“I see children here today that have come with their parents. I think it’s a lovely family gathering when you bring children here because it opens their mind to different cultures and different people. ... Montreal is a multicultural city, and so is our country, and so I think that’s also very positive.”

Reporting by NTD and Wandi 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.