For the first time, Riga, Latvia will host Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 1 through Jan. 7 at the Dailes Theater. The New York-based performing arts company has become popular the world over since its inception in 2006, and word of the exciting performance has found its way to Riga.
Last season, Shen Yun wowed audiences around the world. Near the Latvian capital in Stockholm, Sweden, audiences have come to the theater to see Shen Yun for many years.
Members of the Swedish parliament noted how well Shen Yun brought Chinese culture to life. As a sovereign country, Sweden values freedom of thought and expression.
“It’s an incredibly impressive show that offers a fuller picture of China as a whole. Different from today’s China and the suppression by the Communist Party,” said Parliament member Nima Gholam Ali Pour.
“[Shen Yun] is relevant because we need more moral guidelines in society to steer people in the right direction,” stated Mr. Gholam Ali Pour.
Joar Forssell, also a member of parliament, works closely with policies concerning China and its neighboring countries.
Before Shen Yun arrived in Sweden, Forssell had first-hand experience of the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Forssell is aware of the human rights abuses that continue today in China.
“It is true that the CCP is a party that oppresses Chinese people in China, but also people in the whole world. It’s something that affects people here in Sweden as well,” he said.
Being a diplomat with an interest in culture, Svetlan Stoev, Bulgaria’s ambassador to Sweden, has attended many different cultural and musical events, but this was his first real contact with traditional Chinese culture.
“Everything was amazing, especially the performance of the people, and the smiles on their faces,” he said. “You can see that they’re feeling it’s a great honor to perform on stage and to transmit this kind of tradition to other peoples and nations.”
“If you transfer this tradition and this spirituality from one place to another, everybody can learn from that. And I can say that this kind of combination is the best way to get directly to the heart of the people who are watching it,” Stoev added.
Charlotte von Schedvin also spoke of the message of the show.
“I think the spark, the divine spark, is flowing through everything they performed,” she said. “I am very happy that they tour around the world to spread this message. That is very important, especially nowadays. They do a great work for humanity.”
This year, Shen Yun is set to perform in over 200 cities around the world and across five continents, the 2025 touring season is shaping up to be the artists’ busiest yet and a glorious treat for theatergoers.
