Shen Yun Performs a Unique Show

Shen Yun (“The beauty of divine beings dancing”), the 15-year-old dance company founded and headquartered in New York City, tours the world with annually changing programs that both celebrate and lament China’s 5,000-year cultural history.

Billed as “China Before Communism,” multiple Shen Yun troupes tour the world—but not China, where the organization is banned. Founded by Falun Gong adherents, the company exposes China’s modern history of imprisoning, torturing and killing religious adherents, minorities like the Muslim Uyghurs of northwestern China, and anyone actively opposed to communism and central control.

Forced sterilization, organ harvesting, rape and genocide are examples of official Chinese policy toward its own peoples.

Shen Yun was founded to rescue, preserve and perform traditional ethnic dances, music, folklore and classical culture. Fearing that 50 centuries of cultural history would be lost under communism, artistic director/composer Li Hongzhi (D.F.) formed a 501(c)(3) non profit, resurrected classical dance techniques and training, recruited a winning combination of international and Chinese classical musicians — troupes travel with their own orchestras — and set off into the world.

Shen Yun’s success rivals that of Cirque du Soleil (but without the Las Vegas hype). Shen Yun gets no government funding, but relies on ticket sales during its intensive world tours, tax-deductible donations, and shenyunshop.com. Countless other performing organizations do the latter, but also apply for and receive government support. Thus has Shen Yun set a record for going it alone.

Some 3,000 people in masks arrived at San Diego’s Civic Theatre on Dec. 29 for the 2 p.m. matinee. After a staff check-in of vaccination cards, picture I.D. (18 and over) and bar-coded tickets on cell phones (the venue is “cashless”) the crowd was in their seats by curtain-time.

Reaction was fascinating. Usually, the San Diego audience is vociferous; you know right away whether you’ve hit a homerun. This time folks were conscious of the unusual nature of the two-hour show; its deliberate political statement; its ancestry in China, the government that gave us Covid-19 (with U. S. research funding aid); hence the subdued response. But all ages, including our teenage companions, found the dancers, the breathtaking digital rear projection, the individual stories—for “story” underpins every number—and the excellent orchestra outstanding.

A pair of cultural ambassadors, the dapper Oliver and the elegant Nancy, speaking English and Chinese, announced each number and provided interesting context on top of the program notes.

Part One blended ancient and modern, with classical men’s and women’s dances led off by “Salvation During End Times,” a call from Creator to those willing to rescue China from cultural destruction; an amusing Chinese folktale about the Monkey King; a modern restaurant tale wherein dancers dexterously twirled cloth pizzas to the audience’s amazement; coloratura soprano Rachel Yu Ming Bastick, accompanied by Jingya Mahlen on piano, sang Shen Yun’s anthem ([Falun] Dafa Leads Back to Heaven); a devastating “Insanity During the End of Days” showed the murder of a young Falun Gong adherent and the (faux) removal of her spleen; and a wrap by the “Men of the Jurchen,” people who predated the Manchurians, whose prodigious leaps and pirouettes prompted warm applause.

Part Two cut loose with “Blue Heaven” (the sacred phoenix as heavenly maiden); “The Story of Lady Wang Zhaojun,” a class-conscious heartbreaker from 33 B.C.E.; “Ladies’ Classical Chinese Dance” embodies the essence of Shen Yun. The program broke ranks when the American Linda Wang, a virtuoso on the erhu, an ancient, two-string violin, performed “The Spirit of Dafa” with Jingya Mahlen back on the Steinway. “Three Hundred Years in One Day” asserted that predestination rules relationships; “A School Story” showed all-male scholars struggling to pass the Confucian classics exam. We expected, but didn’t get (hope he’s in good health) Beijing bass Xin Li, singing “Hope Cannot Be Suppressed” — it can’t and this show proves it.

The show closed with “The Display of Great Compassion,” a plea to save all societie from modern distractions like fads, cell phones and advertising brainwashing in favor of faith, compassion and integrity. Creator returns to symbolize the battle between good and evil, and the path to renewal and hope.

Shen Yun emphasizes tradition—no nudity, tights, scatology or off-color material. Whatever you may think, gender roles are defined: men are heroic and athletic; women are graceful and modest (even to narrow silk pants under their flowing dresses and white cotton shorts beneath modern shorter skirts). You can take your grandparents and children to this spectacular show.

Everyone was thrilled by Shen Yun’s newly-patented digital projection that seamlessly blended with live action onstage and glowed with ancient and modern vistas; by the dazzling costumes, choreography and dancing; by the orchestra that features western and eastern instruments. Perhaps most winning of all is the international nature of the company: Chinese, Japanese, American, Australian, Russian, Venezuelan.

“See you next year,” the company waved from the stage. Yes!