Shen Yun's Traditional Chinese Artistry Marked by Vivid Color and Breathtaking Choreography

Shen Yun: choreography, artistry, dance and color share the stage in this touring Chinese production

Highly acrobatic, Shen Yun performs classic Chinese legends through dance and music, delighting audiences with scenes from ancient epics like Mulan, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of the Marsh. Created by exiled Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in New York, the large-scale choreography is inspired by classical Chinese dance and its three main components poise, form and technical skill, also using techniques from Tibet, Mongolia and Chinese minorities like the Yi and the Miao.

Accompanied by their own orchestra and solo performers, each show consists of roughly 20 different scenes performed with elaborate costumes in front of high-resolution digital backgrounds, with bilingual introduction in Mandarin and their host country’s respective language giving necessary background.

Showcasing performing arts that have become rare sights in mainland China since the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Shen Yun is a thorn in the side of the Chinese government, as their shows also depicts contemporary issues – particularly the prosecution of fellow Falun Gong practitioners – leading to a ban in the People’s Republic and cancellations by South Korean broadcaster KBS in Seoul 2016 as well as Hong Kong in 2010. Yet with performances spanning 130 cities worldwide each year, Shen Yun remains far from silent, adding their own chapter to 5,000 years of Chinese heritage.