Review Time
There are some unkind biases about Shen Yun online. I have worked as a volunteer for Shen Yun for almost twenty years. I have visited the campus that trains the dancers and musicians in the past. It's a very compassionate environment. Everyone one is very kind and considerate of others. I was deeply touched by the contribution made by everyone in Shen Yun Performing Arts. Everyone has a beautiful heart that they want to bring their best to the audience around the world. I was never told not to take medicine when I was sick. I was told to get treatment when I needed medical attention.
We have just left the performance in Madrid, and honestly, it was deeply disappointing. At times, it felt less like a cultural show and more like a vehicle for promoting a very specific ideology associated with Falun Gong. The messaging was surprisingly explicit, suggesting that embracing atheism or the theory of evolution would lead you to hell.
In one scene, communist characters suddenly appeared and violently attacked the performers, which felt like a simplistic and poorly developed political critique. The ideological tone was constant and overwhelming.
That said, the segments focused on Chinese mythology were beautiful and genuinely enjoyable. The soloist playing the traditional Chinese instrument was outstanding, and the singers and dancers are undeniably talented and highly skilled.
However, throughout the show, religious messaging was repeatedly inserted — implying that if you step outside a certain belief system, you are embracing evil or the devil, and that modern values and customs will lead humanity to moral decay, death, and the loss of our souls.
While the artistic level of the performers is very high, the strong ideological and religious undertones overshadowed what could otherwise have been a purely cultural and artistic experience.
I guess you could say it’s a show I’ll never forget, not because it was so good, but because it was so bad. The special effects if that’s what you want to call them got pretty boring really quick, so did the dancing and acrobatics. I left at intermission and had no regrets. Now when I see the commercials my wife and I laugh because it was so bad we will never forget.
China is known vibrant and ornate fabrics and costuming. I found most of cast's wardrobe to be cheap looking to the point of distraction. Yes, much of the dance is repetitive, but still lovely. What I did not enjoy were the silly almost Disney cartoon like story lines to the dance skits. There was one where the punchline included a character ripping a large fart. Not the sophisticated and awe inspiring experience I hoped for given the build up and ticket price.
Totally overhyped and overpriced. Had I known it was New York based rather than true Chinese I might have been warned.
The political side coming from a US based organisation seems particularly inappropriate right now in the light of ICE. And why on earth do they have a young girl speaking Chinese between each dance? Pointless. Not too much Chinese spoken in Llandudno 😂.I wish I had read these reviews before I booked. We walked out at the interval shortly after a piece which is quite traumatic in which the CCP are accused of intimidating followers of Falon Gung of having their eyes gouged out. This may or may not be accurate - I hope not obviously - but it's hardly in keeping with the advertising of the show and there is no age limit other than no under 5's.
An underwhelming and quite banal performance, staged by an organisation who intentionally mislead their (paying!) audience. They promise a spectacle of traditional dance and music, when actually they are just trying to promote their own religious ideas.
- A free programme is provided, at least 50% of which is glossy adverts for questionable partner organisations, who clearly have an agenda, some promising to educate your children in a 'virtuous' way. Alarm bells were ringing already!
- At one point a pianist accompanies a solo tenor, whose words are displayed in translation on a screen: "Behind atheism and evolution lurks Satan", or some such rubbish
- This isn't a show about history, or even politics; it's an attempt by religious people to co-opt you into sitting for 2 hours while they try to indoctrinate and convert you. And the most irritating thing is the fact I paid good money for it! And not a small amount, the tickets are relatively expensive, even for a major venue
- The dancing is repetative, every routine looks similar
- The music (composition and performance) is unaccomplished
- The costumes and staging were at least more interesting and detailed, but this did not in any way improve the experience.
In short, my experience was dreadful, and my advice is do not go and see it.
I would give it zero star if I could!! A total scam with false advertising and bogus reviews of how good it is. I have seen better high school productions. Don’t waste your money or time!
Glasgow - a Christmas present for my Mum. Unfortunately we were all disappointed and left at intermission.
The hosts were wooden, the dancers were skilled but it was very repetitive. The male host stated that you could not see this type of show in China - true, as I saw a much superior theatre show there last year with more variety and acrobatics. Presented as an entertainment show, the political statements were out of place. And to have a song with lyrics stating that atheism and creationism were following Satan....... We were very much looking forward to this show, but I would not now recommend it to anyone.
I was super excited to receive tickets as a Christmas gift for Shen Yun. Sadly the experience was not what I had imagined or hoped especially considering the cost of the tickets.
Although the dancers are accomplished and the costumes are colourful the choreography is repetitive.
I found the introduction of every piece time wasting and the stories confusing and just filler pieces without structure.
The theatre we visited allowed late comes to enter with annoying regularity one group were admitted 45 mins into the performance, which did little to enhance my experience.
Overall very disappointing.
This was genuinely the worst use of $250 I've ever experienced. The performance was terrible, and we ended up leaving early. I'm frustrated and disheartened. I had been looking forward to this for years, but it turned out to be a letdown. Save your time and money.
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Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world's premier classical Chinese dance and music company, established in New York in 2006. It performs classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and story-based dance, with orchestral accompaniment and solo performers. For 5,000 years, divine culture flourished in the land of China. Through breathtaking music and dance, Shen Yun is reviving this glorious culture. Shen Yun, or 神韻, can be translated as: “The beauty of divine beings dancing.”See more
