From April 15 to 19, audiences at Philadelphia’s Miller Theatre experienced a Shen Yun Performing Arts production featuring classical Chinese dance accompanied by a live orchestra and enhanced with digital stage backdrops. The performance combined elaborate costumes, choreography, and storytelling drawn from traditional Chinese history and culture.
Founded in 2006, Shen Yun is a New York–based company that tours internationally with multiple equally sized troupes, presenting a newly created program each year intended to highlight pre-communist Chinese cultural traditions.
The company has also been the subject of reported political pressure and disruptions, including claims of transnational repression and more than 150 bomb threats at venues hosting its performances, none of which have been verified as credible but have in some cases led to show interruptions or cancellations in cities such as Toronto.
At the April 15 opening in Philadelphia, a fire alarm briefly interrupted the performance, causing a short delay before the show resumed as scheduled. Theatre officials said the alarm was triggered on the fourth floor and that an investigation is underway. They also noted that the FBI has been made aware of the incident.
‘Marvelous from the beginning to the end’
Ron and Rosemarie Newman told Vision Times that they were going to recommend the performance to their friends and described the show as “beautiful… very interesting” and “very fun.”
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They said they enjoyed the “good moral lessons throughout” and that it was hard to pick which aspect of the show was their favorite. “All of the stories brought it to life.”
Alfredo Aredalo, a welder, and Cheryl Klein, a retired teacher loved the experience.
“I thought it was fantastic. I am so happy that I saw it… the colors, the dancing, the singing, the music.. It was wonderful,” Cheryl said.
Alfredo said the stories were easy to follow, particularly the part of the show that told the story of communist persecution. “It was easy to understand, easy to follow the story,” he said.
Glenn Losch and Joanne Perry had a similar experience.
“It was a great story. You could really follow along just with their expressions. They told the story without saying a word and you could really follow along with what they were saying,” Glenn told Vision Times. “I will probably come back next year,” Joanne added.
Betty Wu, who recently arrived in the U.S. from China said the performance was “great.”
“I paid attention [to] this group in China… when I came here, I made decisions to come see this show right away. The show is so beautiful, but I can’t see in China, the beautiful shows like this.”
Despite attempts to silence Shen Yun’s artists, its global tour continues. In its 20th anniversary year, the company plans approximately 800 performances across 200 cities worldwide.
For more information on Shen Yun Performing Arts, including FAQs and ticketing information, please visit the official website here.
