The Shen Yun Performing Arts audience at curtain call at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on March 29, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Shen Yun Performing Arts’ 2025 season took a final curtain call on May 11 in Philadelphia; Paris; Nashville, Tennessee; and Providence, Rhode Island. This year, New York-based Shen Yun’s eight companies performed for an estimated 1 million-plus theatergoers attending more than 760 shows. Shen Yun visited major cities across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia, to rave reviews.
Joined by Shen Yun dancers, (L-R) Italian politician and former EU MP Simona Renata Baldassarre and her husband; President of the Senate EU Affairs Committee, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata; Rome City Councilor Federico Rocca; (back row) Italian Prime Minister Meloni's sister, Arianna Meloni and mother, Anna Paratore. Mary Man/The Epoch Times
Dignitaries everywhere showered Shen Yun with praise and honors. Rome pulled out all the stops for Shen Yun’s first visit in almost seven years, with the company receiving a welcome reception from Italian senators ahead of an appearance at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. The invitation was extended by Sen. Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, president of the Senate’s EU Affairs Committee and former Italian foreign minister.
“This is something truly extraordinary,” he said. “You represent beauty, you represent the divinity of the human being, and dance is the perfect expression of all this.”
Terzi described the performance as a perfect example of “cultural diplomacy,” using art and beauty as a medium to share universal values. “Shen Yun is the bearer of a universal message of harmony, respect, and above all freedom,” he stated.
While many venues eagerly awaited Shen Yun’s return each year, some cities welcomed the performing arts company for the first time. Riga, the capital of Latvia, hosted Shen Yun’s historic debut in a former Soviet Union country. Larisa Polosuhina, one of the wealthiest women in Latvia with commercial interests in the Baltic region, said, “Very beautiful, the colors are stunning, and the dance, of course!”
Paris enjoyed Shen Yun’s longest run from April through May. French National Assembly member Thierry Frappé spoke for many when he said: “I’ve been to a lot of shows before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a show of this quality. It’s part dream, part enchantment. The color, the dance, the dreams, the sets, everything is absolutely remarkable.”
Thierry Frappé enjoyed Shen Yun at the Palais des Congrès in Paris on May 3, 2025. NTD
New York City’s Lincoln Center hosted 18 sold-out performances. Audience members praised Shen Yun’s beautiful production and hopeful message.
Frederick Newcomb, investment banker and president of a financial service company, said: “The presentation and the message were one, and it conveyed it perfectly. The future of the world is in our hands. We won’t outlive it, but it will outlive us. And the good work that’s being done like this will transcend time.”
Michael Cogdill and Danette Cogdill at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on May 7, 2025. NTD
Michael Cogdill, a news anchor in Greenville, South Carolina, said: “You can’t watch this and not be happy. There is such happiness. Even though there is repression from communist China, there is an evolution through it. Humanity evolves beyond such dreadfulness. It’s just happiness throughout. The art of happy.”
Positive Energy
Audiences heartily approved of Shen Yun’s mission of reviving traditional Chinese culture before communism. Many commented on the positive energy they felt during performances and messages of hope and beauty that touched their hearts.
JJ Anderson, a director of finance in biotech, in Escondido, California, said: “I think what’s great about [Shen Yun’s message] is that it’s kindness and compassion. ... It doesn’t matter what you believe. ... Just be nice to each other. Be kind, be compassionate, be tolerant.
“That’s the message I get. ... Love, kindness, compassion wins out every time.”
Antonio Martínez Pastor watches Shen Yun in Murcia, Spain, on March 2, 2025. NTD
Antonio Martínez Pastor, a regional councilor of Murcia, Spain, said, “We are all very enthusiastic because the truth is that [the performance] transmits a lot of positive energy.”
When he saw Shen Yun in São Paulo, Brazil, dental surgeon William Ortega de Souza said that Shen Yun “brings a different feeling: good energy and a connection with the divine.”
“It gives that warm feeling in the heart when we see culture really showcased. People need to know this beautiful culture, and that in [the artists’] own country, they can’t express themselves,” he said.
Anna Agosto, an entrepreneur in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said: “They bring hope, they bring happiness. We are living right now in a moment that is so hard with everything. And then you come here, and you feel relaxed and connected and that heavenly atmosphere that we need.”
Threats and Attacks
As the popularity of Shen Yun continues to grow, performers and staff have found themselves increasingly threatened and harassed by the Chinese communist regime.
Shen Yun reported: “In recent months, leaked documents from the Ministry of State Security in China have spoken of a new campaign to weaponize social media and mainstream American media to attack Shen Yun. Over 130 cases of attempted sabotage, often linked directly to the CCP and its consulates and embassies around the world, have been documented.” In February, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was evacuated over a bomb threat on the morning of Shen Yun’s opening performance.
At a press conference at New York City’s Lincoln Center in March, Kay Rubacek, mother of two Shen Yun dancers, announced a petition by dancers, parents, and staff asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. The petition also calls on Congress and the president to take action to stop the attacks and on the U.S. media to expose “gross distortions and false narratives” perpetrated by Beijing.
Kay Rubacek, mother of Lee Rubacek, a student at Fei Tian College, speaks at a press conference highlighting the Chinese Communist Party's activities targeting the company at Lincoln Center in New York City on March 26, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
Such threats, however, have not been able to diminish the enthusiasm audiences exhibit for Shen Yun, which is already preparing an all-new production for 2026.
Shen Yun Closes a Successful 2025 World Tour
Shen Yun Performing Arts’ 2025 season took a final curtain call on May 11 in Philadelphia; Paris; Nashville, Tennessee; and Providence, Rhode Island. This year, New York-based Shen Yun’s eight companies performed for an estimated 1 million-plus theatergoers attending more than 760 shows. Shen Yun visited major cities across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia, to rave reviews.
Dignitaries everywhere showered Shen Yun with praise and honors. Rome pulled out all the stops for Shen Yun’s first visit in almost seven years, with the company receiving a welcome reception from Italian senators ahead of an appearance at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. The invitation was extended by Sen. Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, president of the Senate’s EU Affairs Committee and former Italian foreign minister.
“This is something truly extraordinary,” he said. “You represent beauty, you represent the divinity of the human being, and dance is the perfect expression of all this.”
Terzi described the performance as a perfect example of “cultural diplomacy,” using art and beauty as a medium to share universal values. “Shen Yun is the bearer of a universal message of harmony, respect, and above all freedom,” he stated.
While many venues eagerly awaited Shen Yun’s return each year, some cities welcomed the performing arts company for the first time. Riga, the capital of Latvia, hosted Shen Yun’s historic debut in a former Soviet Union country. Larisa Polosuhina, one of the wealthiest women in Latvia with commercial interests in the Baltic region, said, “Very beautiful, the colors are stunning, and the dance, of course!”
Paris enjoyed Shen Yun’s longest run from April through May. French National Assembly member Thierry Frappé spoke for many when he said: “I’ve been to a lot of shows before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a show of this quality. It’s part dream, part enchantment. The color, the dance, the dreams, the sets, everything is absolutely remarkable.”
New York City’s Lincoln Center hosted 18 sold-out performances. Audience members praised Shen Yun’s beautiful production and hopeful message.
Frederick Newcomb, investment banker and president of a financial service company, said: “The presentation and the message were one, and it conveyed it perfectly. The future of the world is in our hands. We won’t outlive it, but it will outlive us. And the good work that’s being done like this will transcend time.”
Positive Energy
Audiences heartily approved of Shen Yun’s mission of reviving traditional Chinese culture before communism. Many commented on the positive energy they felt during performances and messages of hope and beauty that touched their hearts.JJ Anderson, a director of finance in biotech, in Escondido, California, said: “I think what’s great about [Shen Yun’s message] is that it’s kindness and compassion. ... It doesn’t matter what you believe. ... Just be nice to each other. Be kind, be compassionate, be tolerant.
“That’s the message I get. ... Love, kindness, compassion wins out every time.”
Antonio Martínez Pastor, a regional councilor of Murcia, Spain, said, “We are all very enthusiastic because the truth is that [the performance] transmits a lot of positive energy.”
When he saw Shen Yun in São Paulo, Brazil, dental surgeon William Ortega de Souza said that Shen Yun “brings a different feeling: good energy and a connection with the divine.”
“It gives that warm feeling in the heart when we see culture really showcased. People need to know this beautiful culture, and that in [the artists’] own country, they can’t express themselves,” he said.
Threats and Attacks
As the popularity of Shen Yun continues to grow, performers and staff have found themselves increasingly threatened and harassed by the Chinese communist regime.Such threats, however, have not been able to diminish the enthusiasm audiences exhibit for Shen Yun, which is already preparing an all-new production for 2026.
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