SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Baroness: Shen Yun ‘Brings Culture to Life in a Very Powerful Way’

Mar 07, 2022

LONDON, U.K.—Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff was among the audience at the March 6 matinee of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Eventim Apollo. She called the classical Chinese dance event “a great visual and emotional experience.”

“It’s a magnificent show with the most incredible dancing and acrobatics. And it really brings the culture to life in a very powerful way,” said Lady Finlay.

The artists of Shen Yun are trained in classical Chinese dance. The art form has thousands of years of history and is actually the root of many other art forms that we know today, such as gymnastics and acrobatics.

Ilora Gillian Finlay FMedSci., a Welsh doctor, professor of palliative medicine, and a Crossbench member of the House of Lords, has a public life outside of Parliament as well as world concerns. She noted that Shen Yun displays China’s rich history as well as modern-day life saying “Of course, it also highlights difficulties and problems of today—this show itself is the most incredible celebration of a history of magnificent culture,” she said.

New York-based Shen Yun is known for its breathtaking choreography, East-meets-West orchestra, and beautiful costuming. The company has been touring worldwide annually since 2006.

“It really makes you appreciate the human touch all the way through,” commented Lady Finlay. “And I think the dancers are absolutely amazing because they don’t even look breathless. They’re really fantastic. And the costumes as well, I was really taken.”

Current Events

Many of the Shen Yun artists practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual discipline that teaches the three principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. As explained in the program book, these artists are on a shared spiritual journey and take their self-refinement and morality seriously. Unfortunately, their peaceful practice is persecuted in China and Shen Yun is unable to perform there.

“We’ve discussed it in Parliament as well,” said Lady Finlay. “The sad reality is that there are terrible things going on in society. And we have to recognize them, we can’t close our eyes to them, she said.

She expressed her wish that audience members appreciate cultural differences. “I hope everybody who’s been to the show leaves with a greater tolerance of other people in the world, a greater understanding of cultures ... and allow different people to live with different faiths in peace,” Lady Finlay said.

“‘For evil to flourish, it only takes good men to do nothing,’” she said, quoting Simon Wiesenthal. “We cannot ignore bad things in the world. And we must not perpetuate them.”

Cultural Exchange

Lady Finlay calls Shen Yun a show “for people of all ages and all cultures.”

She praises everyone involved with the performance.

“I would say to the artists that they are absolutely phenomenal, inspirational in their discipline, as well as in their expressive performance. But I think also the musicians, the people who make the costumes, the filming for the backdrop—one mustn’t forget all those people as well—all the technical people involved in putting on a show like this,” she said.

Simply by sharing the beauty of Chinese culture in the way it does, Shen Yun has made a difference in people’s understanding of China’s rich culture and the current events facing Chinese people today.

“By sharing culture, we learn to respect other people, we learn to recognize the intrinsic value of all that they have and their history,” Lady Finlay said. “And I think that actually, it is the road to peace at the end of the day if we can only understand other people and respect them. And we desperately need peace in this world today.”

Reporting by NTD and Christine Lin.

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