SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Transports You to an Ancient Time, Says Physician

Feb 21, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ibrahim and Aida Mady had wanted to see Shen Yun Performing Arts, but for several years scheduling conflicts kept coming up. On Feb. 20, the couple caught Shen Yun’s opening night performance at the Kennedy Center Opera House in the nation’s capital.

“I love the dance, the colors, the technology. I’m very impressed with the technology and the back screen. It’s very impressive,” said Mr. Mady, a physician, referring to Shen Yun’s patented backdrop. “I’m extremely impressed with everything I’ve seen.”

“It’s beautiful,” said Mrs. Mady, a chef. “It kind of takes you back there, like you feel like you are in there.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through music and dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.

“I feel like it’s taking me back in ancient time,” Mr. Mady said.

“It’s history. It’s beautiful,” Mrs. Mady added.

Mrs. Mady said it was not a China she could have pictured on her own, and was delighted with the beauty of the scenes brought to life on stage. The music was a surprise as well, she added, not knowing what Chinese music should have sounded like.

Shen Yun’s orchestra is unique in that it blends East and West, incorporating ancient Chinese instruments into a Western orchestra, which performs original works that make use of soul-stirring ancient Chinese melodies and the grandeur of a classical orchestra.

“I feel music is international language,” Mrs. Mady said. “It is very serene and relaxing. It’s beautiful.”

The Madys felt there was much that was universal in the performance. Mr. Mady felt the beauty of the art itself touched his heart, and Mrs. Mady found the spiritual themes in the culture very universal.

“Especially when they were just like praising to God, like, you know, they pray,” she said. “It’s nice. It’s like we all believe in this. So it’s really nice.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Catherine Yang.

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