SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Transports Audience Members Back to ‘Universal Truth’: Former Philosophy Lecturer

Mar 02, 2025

SYDNEY, Australia—Sister Mary Ekman, a former philosophy lecturer at the University of Notre Dame Australia, said Shen Yun’s performance transported her through time and back to the “universal truth.”

“It was amazing. ... It transports you throughout time to the universal truth—which is goodness, beauty, truth,” she said after watching the performance at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on March 1.

Classical Chinese dance forms the heart of Shen Yun, where the art form has been refined over thousands of years to become one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

Ancient people believed that art was meant to uplift, which would, in turn, bring joy to both the artist and those who experienced it, according to the company’s website.

“Shen Yun, to me, is the language of beauty,” Ms. Ekman said.

“And it shows through artistic form that history is important—and it teaches us about ourselves.

“This is why it’s important that we always stay connected to our roots, our cultural roots, no matter what culture, and that we tell the story truthfully throughout time, which is what today has been really.

“And as the saying goes, ‘those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it,’” she said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive authentic Chinese culture, showcasing a range of classical and contemporary stories throughout China’s 5,000-year-old history—and bringing them to life through its classically trained dancers, world-class orchestra, and state-of-the-art digital backdrop.

However, communist campaigns, such as the Cultural Revolution, sought to replace China’s vibrant and glorious 5,000-year-old culture with struggle and atheism in which traditional customs and values were nearly wiped out.

“And as beauty speaks, so does truth, and so does goodness, which is the opposite of ugliness, which is what atheism is,” she said. “To not have God, is to not have the author of beauty, truth, and goodness—and Shen Yun expresses the author of beauty, which is our Creator.”

Ms. Ekman was also moved by the depiction of the contemporary piece on religious persecution in China.

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, have been persecuted by communist China since 1999. Despite the pressure, Shen Yun boldly presents some modern-day events related to the persecution in order to raise awareness.

“The ugliness of what happened in that scene where the young man is tortured—it just shows you can’t break the human spirit. With the help of God, the Creator, we can overcome that ugliness,” she said.

Ms. Ekman was also impressed by the tenor’s performance.

“He’s singing from the heart about us, about who we are, and about where we come from,” Ms. Ekman said of the lyrics in which man’s connection to the divine was referenced.

“I think across all religions, we all understand that we’re being created and that we all are made to worship, to give back to the Creator, because we come from Him and we’re going back to Him.

“And we need to bring the spark of divine beauty here on earth,” she said.

Reporting by NTD and Henry Jom.

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