It’s a slim chance you’d meet anyone who has never heard of Shen Yun Performing Arts. From billboards and direct mail to TV commercials, the classical Chinese dance and music phenomenon in New York has been established for almost two decades. It travels to more than 180 cities yearly with all-new productions showcasing “China before communism.”
But why is a non-profit performing arts company reviving traditional Chinese culture based in New York and not China? Not many people know this, but Shen Yun can’t even perform in China, and there’s no other performance like this to be found in China.
The communist regime has run China for more than 70 years. It’s a regime that views China’s five millennia of civilization—built on ideas like harmony among heaven, earth, and humankind and virtues like tolerance, courage, faith, and compassion—as a threat to its power.
Through richly expressive classical Chinese dance, vividly animated backdrops, and all-original orchestral works featuring Eastern and Western instruments, Shen Yun is bringing profound wisdom and timeless beauty to life on stage while honoring the spiritual essence of Chinese civilization.
Making its debut in 2006 at New York City’s Lincoln Center, Shen Yun has gained international accolades.
At the Lincoln Center opening night last season, Shen Yun received letters, proclamations, and awards from 36 state senate and assembly members praising the performance. Upon seeing the show, Daniel Herman, the former Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, said, “There is a massive power in this that can embrace the world. It brings great hope…It is truly a touch of heaven.”
Shen Yun presents a brand new show every year, with each show comprising nearly 20 vignettes of classical Chinese dance, folk and ethnic dances, and story-based dances. So performers need to dedicate ample time rehearsing for the programs with choreographers to ensure that the dancers have the synchronicity for which they’re known. You can see a day in the life of a Shen Yun dancer in this video blog.
Principal dancer Evangeline Zhu shared about her journey in dance as a constant exploration of how much control one could have over one’s limbs and how malleable the human body is.
In Shen Yun, Zhu learned the classical Chinese dance skill of shen-dai-shou (literally, “the body leads the hands”), imparted by Shen Yun’s Artistic Director. The concept sounds simple—moving the body to move the hands—but it’s not easy to master in practice.
Even experienced professionals like Zhu spend years mastering the technique. In fact, with this particular technique, Shen Yun has set a new standard for classical Chinese dance internationally in the past several years.
Charles Gravenhorst, the former tenor with the San Francisco Opera, said this past New Year’s Eve, “In all my almost 70 years…I was never more satisfied in the theater than being here today. I wept in the beginning,” he said. “I’ve never had so much beauty coming at me in just one dose, and it just kept coming and coming.”
Being a touring show is not easy. Even though the show’s production is quite large, it’s all hands on deck with loading in and out of every theater—from dancers and musicians to the local crew. Dancers also take care of their own makeup and share the responsibilities of managing props and costumes.
Every new theater presents new challenges since the dancers have to adapt the show to the given space of each stage. Check out this behind-the-scenes video of a New Jersey performance.
While each crew member goes to great lengths to deliver a spectacular show every time and every season, the most important ingredient is purpose.
“I think we should ask ourselves, what is the purpose of art? What are we trying to achieve as artists? Is it to solely entertain, or is it to educate and communicate? And what is the message that we want to convey, and what would be its impact?” says Shen Yun principal dancer Piotr Huang.
Experience Shen Yun firsthand and get tickets to the next performance near you.