Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun weaves a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales, taking you on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Its stunning beauty and tremendous energy leave audiences uplifted and inspired.
A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance.
Classical Chinese dance has helped preserve 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Built on traditional aesthetics, it was once passed down among the people, in imperial courts, and through ancient plays. Over thousands of years, it was constantly refined, eventually developing into the vast and distinctly Chinese dance form we know today. MORE >
Classical Chinese dance has its own set of training methods in basic skills and has strict training in both physical expression and specific postures. It also involves learning combinations of leaps, turns, flips, spins, and other aerial and tumbling techniques. It is a vast and independent system of dance.
China’s deep cultural traditions are contained in classical Chinese dance, allowing its movements to be richly expressive, such that the personalities and feelings of characters can be portrayed with unparalleled clarity. It is therefore capable of depicting scenes from any time period, whether ancient or modern, Eastern or Western, in a strikingly vivid way.
THE MANY DISTINCTIVE ethnic groups within China and around her borders provide a wonderful array of material from which to choreograph and compose. These dances might whisk you away to the plains of Tibet, the shores of a Dai village, or the sprawling plains of Mongolia.
Left: Principal dancer Chelsea Cai, with Shen Yun New York company, in The Tibetan Dance of Praise from 2010.THESE DANCES GIVE dramatic portrayal to the cherished stories of past and present. Their figures embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization, and convey a message or moral that is still relevant in our day. Many have inspired people for generations, such as the tales of heroine Mulan and general Yue Fei.
Left: Principal dancer Rocky Liao as drunk monk Lu Zhishen, in The Heroic Lu Zhishen from 2010.
FROM THE MOMENT the gong is struck to herald the beginning of the show, you know you are in for something musically memorable.
The Shen Yun Orchestra masterfully blends two of the world’s greatest classical music traditions. Ancient Chinese instruments such as the soul-stirring erhu and the delicate pipa lead the melody on top of a full orchestra of Western strings, percussion, woodwinds, and brass. The Western orchestra with its energy and grandeur, and the Chinese instruments with their distinct tones and styles, create a dramatic new sound.
Left: Xiaochun Qi, erhu soloistTHE RESOUNDING VOICES of bel canto soloists are an integral part of the Shen Yun experience. Each program is heightened by several moving selections from our singers. Their impassioned songs give voice to hopes that have shaped Chinese culture for centuries.
Left: Guimin Guan, tenor; Haolan Geng, soprano
In 2006, A Group of leading classical Chinese artists
came together in New York with one wish: to revive
the true, divinely inspired culture of China and share it
with the world.
CHINA WAS ONCE KNOWN as Shen Zhou−The Divine Land. This profound name describes a land where deities and mortals coexisted, and a belief that the divine transmitted a rich culture to the people of the earth.
For thousands of years, Buddhist, Taoist, and other disciplines were at the heart of society. Calligraphy, music, medicine, attire, and much more were said to have been passed down from the heavens.
Unfortunately...
Over its past 60 years of rule, the communist regime has treated traditional Chinese values−centered on the idea of harmony between heaven and earth−as a threat to its existence. And in its systematic campaigns like the Cultural Revolution, it has uprooted traditional beliefs and destroyed ancient treasures−bringing traditional 5,000 years of civilization to the brink of extinction.
ENTIRELY NON-PROFIT, AND INDEPENDENT of the Chinese regime, Shen Yun enjoys the artistic freedom of New York, enabling it to now bring these ancient traditions to the stage. Shen Yun and its mission have drawn top talent from around the world; many artists are winners of international competitions in dance, choreography, and music.
EACH SEASON our three equally large companies simultaneously tour the globe, performing at the world’s top venues—Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, the London Coliseum; our orchestras have played at Carnegie Hall.
Our sold-out audiences include star actors, fashion leaders, government VIPs, and international celebrities. We look forward to seeing you among them at one of our next shows!