A matinee performance at The Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut, on May 12 marked the culmination of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ 2024 world tour. Visiting 200 cities in more than 20 countries, Shen Yun’s eight full companies had their most extensive tour yet.
New York-based Shen Yun maintained an incredibly busy schedule throughout the five months of its world tour. In the United States, the company performed in more than 100 cities across 44 states, including Washington and, for the first time, Puerto Rico. Simultaneously, it embarked on month-long engagements in countries such as Japan, Italy, the UK, and Australia, with last-minute performances added to accommodate the high demand in several cities.
Audience members from around the world have commented on their appreciation of the performances.
David Foy travels around the world to promote Luxembourg as a destination. Seeing Shen Yun, he said that it was one of the most beautiful performances he had ever seen.
“I think it’s the most colorful, the most gracious show that I’ve seen in quite a long time. There’s an awful lot of hard work that’s gone into it. ... It’s really nice to watch,” Mr. Foy said.
Shen Yun was founded in 2006, when a group of Chinese artists, unable to create art freely in their homeland, came together with the wish to revive the lost heritage of traditional Chinese culture. In New York’s Hudson Valley, they found the artistic freedom they sought and decided to create Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Over the past 18 years, Shen Yun has grown to comprise its current eight companies—each with its own orchestra—which tour the world simultaneously. Their performances showcase genuine Chinese culture as it was before the communist regime took over China, and attract audiences with a universal message.
Shen Yun’s mission resonated with Harry Rilling, mayor of the city of Norwalk, who saw one of Shen Yun’s last performances of the season in his home state of Connecticut.
“I think it’s great to see what it used to be and how things were in Chinese culture. I feel very strongly that people should always think about their culture, where they came from, their ancestors, what they bring to this country, and what they bring to the world,” Mr. Rilling said.
Sabotage and Threats
Despite its worldwide success, Shen Yun faces some challenges, specifically from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which continually tries to sabotage performances through its embassies and consulates. This year, its efforts included sending fake bomb threats to several theaters, including venues in California, and in the cities of Paris and Vancouver, Canada. In all cases, after thorough checks by the police, the performances proceeded as scheduled.“Shen Yun shows the world just how profound, inspiring, and magnificent authentic Chinese culture was before the CCP seized power, while also offering a captivating vision for how wonderful China could be once again without the CCP,” Ying Chen, a vice president with Shen Yun Performing Arts, told The Epoch Times after the bomb threats.
A Universal Message
Classical Chinese dance is at the heart of Shen Yun’s performances, but Western traditions also play a role. The live orchestra that accompanies the dances includes instruments from both the East and the West—so the violin and cello are paired with, for example, the erhu, a two-string instrument from ancient China. The performance also includes at least one tenor or soprano who sings in the traditional bel canto style.Most importantly, the main themes of Shen Yun’s performances are universal ideals—compassion, courage, and faith in the Creator—so they resonate with audiences from every corner of the globe.
Lt. Col. Eldon Beck of the Marine Corps watched Shen Yun in Fairfax, Virginia, earlier this year with his wife and six of their seven children. “We see throughout this whole experience things that are familiar to us because it’s the beauty of the world that we live in—this amazing place—and the divine creations, and the goodness of people, but in a conflict against darker forces and evil forces that try to suppress the beauty and the goodness,” he said.
Lt. Col. Beck shared his thoughts about the battle between good and evil, which he connected to the CCP’s oppressive rule.
“When you look at something like the Chinese Communist Party, it seems very powerful, and it spreads its power in all sorts of devious ways, and it tries to make it look good, but ultimately, that fails because the divine and the beauty and the goodness of what comes from God is eternal, and it can’t be destroyed.”
