Shen Yun Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
Shen Yun Performing Arts, formerly known as Divine Performing Arts, is a performing arts and entertainment company based in New York City
. It performs classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and story-based dance.
Founded in 2006, the Shen Yun troupe is often associated with the Falun Gong
spiritual practice, and performances around the world are hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations. Kelly Wen, Master of Ceremonies for Shen Yun, stated that the underlying idea of the performance is to "revive the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture", which Wen described as a lost art destroyed by the Chinese communist government.
Among others, the show has been praised by Broadway critic Richard Connema, who gave it five stars, while other reviews, such as The Guardian
, criticised the show for promoting Falun Gong without saying so explicitly enough.
According to a press release in The New York Times
, Shen Yun has more than 200 members and perform seven months a year. The show's acts and production staff are trained at Shen Yun’s headquarters in Cuddebackville, in Orange County, New York.
and erhu
.
Shen Yun enacts three distinct forms of Chinese dance in its performances: classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance (for instance, dances of China's Dai and Mongolian ethnic minorities), and story-based dance, presenting classic Chinese stories such as the legend of Mulan
.
Aside from the dance pieces, there is also a live orchestra of Chinese and Western instruments. The songs are in Chinese, but the lyrics, both in Chinese and the local language where the performance is being held, are projected onto a backdrop revealing the performances' themes, "dealing often with historical movements and their devoted disciples."
The group is composed of three performing arts companies: The New York Company, The Touring Company, and the International Company, which typically tour different parts of the world consecutively. Each year the Shen Yun Performing Arts show tours several countries, performing across Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia. Shen Yun's shows have been staged in several leading stages, including New York’s Radio City Music Hall
, New York'sThe David H. Koch Theater, London’s Royal Festival Hall
, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, and Paris’ Le Palais de Congrès
and Shen Yun had accused the Chinese government of interfering in their performances through their overseas embassies.
In late January 2010, the government of Hong Kong refused entry visas for members of the production crew for the troupe's performances scheduled between 27 and 31 January, saying that "work visas were considered case by case", and said the applicant generally had to offer expertise not easily found locally; the troupe cancelled the performances which it claimed to have been sold out. Democratic Party
chairman Albert Ho
said the denial of the visas was a worrying new erosion of Hong Kong's freedoms, and damaged the reputation of Hong Kong as a liberal and open society.
Similar diplomatic pressures in Moldova
forced theaters to pull Shen Yun's performances.
The Chinese embassy in the United States accused NTDTV and Shen Yun Performing Arts of being used to "spread anti-China propaganda" and "distorting Chinese culture".
"Holiday Wonders",, Chinese New Year Splendor, and "Divine Performing Arts", but now the company mostly performs under its own name "Shen Yun".
, Denver Post and San Francisco Bay Times
billed the show positively, the Chronicle exploring scenes in the performance depicting Falun Gong. Richard Connema, San Francisco critic for Talkin' Broadway, was interviewed by NTDTV and described the Shen Yun performance as "absolutely fantastic," and gave it five stars. Opera Online described one performance as "simply astounding to watch and a pleasure to the ear."
Other reviewers have said that past Shen Yun shows were not advertised explicitly enough as being inspired by Falun Gong philosophy, yet contained scenes depicting the persecution of its practitioners in China: a heavily critical piece in The New York Times in 2008 raised these objections about allegedly misleading promotion; while similar opinions were put forward by the Daily Telegraph, the Toronto Star, and The Guardian. The Telegraph's reviewer described the "politically motivated" content as "propaganda as entertainment," while the others echoed those sentiments. A reviewer of the Buffalo News argued that while the show is laudable in bringing public attention to the human rights abuse by the Chinese government, it misrepresented itself in its promotion efforts, making little mention of its Falun Gong connections. A local dance expert responded to the negative review, arguing that he had "missed the entire point and theme of the performance," and asserting that "it is the job of an artist to communicate thoughts and ideas."
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It performs classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and story-based dance.
Founded in 2006, the Shen Yun troupe is often associated with the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
spiritual practice, and performances around the world are hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations. Kelly Wen, Master of Ceremonies for Shen Yun, stated that the underlying idea of the performance is to "revive the essence of 5000 years of Chinese culture", which Wen described as a lost art destroyed by the Chinese communist government.
Among others, the show has been praised by Broadway critic Richard Connema, who gave it five stars, while other reviews, such as The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, criticised the show for promoting Falun Gong without saying so explicitly enough.
According to a press release in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Shen Yun has more than 200 members and perform seven months a year. The show's acts and production staff are trained at Shen Yun’s headquarters in Cuddebackville, in Orange County, New York.
Content
Shen Yun shows feature traditional Chinese dance and song. A January 2010 seven-show run of Shen Yun at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC, consisted of twenty-two vignettes with colorful costumes, dancing, and "thrilling operatic singing". The 2008 shows in Denver were composed of sixty dancers, singers and musicians, though the size of each company varies. The 2007 shows in San Francisco contained sixteen different acts, consisting of traditional dancing and martial arts displays. The acts are presented in both Chinese and the local language. Each act is accompanied by a wide, projected backdrop that provides animation of "mountain scenes with snow, village scenes with rising smoke, countryside landscapes, and palaces."In addition to the live orchestra accompanying each performance, there are several acts depicting live traditional Chinese instruments, like pipaPipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
and erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
.
Shen Yun enacts three distinct forms of Chinese dance in its performances: classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance (for instance, dances of China's Dai and Mongolian ethnic minorities), and story-based dance, presenting classic Chinese stories such as the legend of Mulan
Hua Mulan
Hua Mulan is a legendary figure from ancient China who was originally described in a Chinese poem known as the Ballad of Mulan . In the poem, Hua Mulan takes her aged father's place in the army. She fought for 12 years and gained high merit, but she refused any reward and retired to her hometown...
.
Aside from the dance pieces, there is also a live orchestra of Chinese and Western instruments. The songs are in Chinese, but the lyrics, both in Chinese and the local language where the performance is being held, are projected onto a backdrop revealing the performances' themes, "dealing often with historical movements and their devoted disciples."
The group is composed of three performing arts companies: The New York Company, The Touring Company, and the International Company, which typically tour different parts of the world consecutively. Each year the Shen Yun Performing Arts show tours several countries, performing across Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia. Shen Yun's shows have been staged in several leading stages, including New York’s Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, New York'sThe David H. Koch Theater, London’s Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, and Paris’ Le Palais de Congrès
Palais des congrès de Paris
The Palais des congrès de Paris is a concert venue and convention centre in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. The venue was built by French architect Guillaume Gillet, and was inaugurated in 1974. Nearby the venue are Bois de Boulogne and the affluent neighbourhood of Neuilly-sur-Seine...
Interference
The Epoch TimesThe Epoch Times
The Epoch Times is a multi-language, international media organisation. As a newspaper, the Times has been publishing in Chinese since May 2000. It was founded in 1999 by supporters of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline....
and Shen Yun had accused the Chinese government of interfering in their performances through their overseas embassies.
In late January 2010, the government of Hong Kong refused entry visas for members of the production crew for the troupe's performances scheduled between 27 and 31 January, saying that "work visas were considered case by case", and said the applicant generally had to offer expertise not easily found locally; the troupe cancelled the performances which it claimed to have been sold out. Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
chairman Albert Ho
Albert Ho
Albert Ho Chun-yan . He is currently secretary general of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and chairman of the Democratic Party. He is a solicitor and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong....
said the denial of the visas was a worrying new erosion of Hong Kong's freedoms, and damaged the reputation of Hong Kong as a liberal and open society.
Similar diplomatic pressures in Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
forced theaters to pull Shen Yun's performances.
The Chinese embassy in the United States accused NTDTV and Shen Yun Performing Arts of being used to "spread anti-China propaganda" and "distorting Chinese culture".
Show names
Initially the shows were titled "Chinese Spectacular","Holiday Wonders",, Chinese New Year Splendor, and "Divine Performing Arts", but now the company mostly performs under its own name "Shen Yun".
Reception
The San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Denver Post and San Francisco Bay Times
San Francisco Bay Times
The San Francisco Bay Times is a free weekly LGBT newspaper in San Francisco, California that started as COMING Up! in October 1979 as "the gay lesbian newspaper and calendar of events for the Bay Area."...
billed the show positively, the Chronicle exploring scenes in the performance depicting Falun Gong. Richard Connema, San Francisco critic for Talkin' Broadway, was interviewed by NTDTV and described the Shen Yun performance as "absolutely fantastic," and gave it five stars. Opera Online described one performance as "simply astounding to watch and a pleasure to the ear."
Other reviewers have said that past Shen Yun shows were not advertised explicitly enough as being inspired by Falun Gong philosophy, yet contained scenes depicting the persecution of its practitioners in China: a heavily critical piece in The New York Times in 2008 raised these objections about allegedly misleading promotion; while similar opinions were put forward by the Daily Telegraph, the Toronto Star, and The Guardian. The Telegraph's reviewer described the "politically motivated" content as "propaganda as entertainment," while the others echoed those sentiments. A reviewer of the Buffalo News argued that while the show is laudable in bringing public attention to the human rights abuse by the Chinese government, it misrepresented itself in its promotion efforts, making little mention of its Falun Gong connections. A local dance expert responded to the negative review, arguing that he had "missed the entire point and theme of the performance," and asserting that "it is the job of an artist to communicate thoughts and ideas."