ROME, Italy—On Feb. 15, 2026, Shen Yun Performing Arts’ New York Company presented its second and third sold-out performances at the Auditorium della Conciliazione. Located just steps from the Vatican in the heart of the Eternal City, the renowned concert hall welcomed an international audience eager to experience a revival of traditional Chinese culture through music and dance.
As the curtain rose, the stage opened onto a world far removed from modern Rome. Billowing clouds drifted across luminous backdrops, and celestial maidens moved with effortless grace, transporting the audience into scenes inspired by China’s ancient myths and legends.
As Shen Yun’s European tour continues to attract attention, its artistic excellence and spiritual themes have resonated with people from many walks of life—including members of the clergy.
Among them was Roman Catholic priest Evilázio Cavalcante, who works in Rome. After attending the performance, he expressed heartfelt admiration.
“The performance is truly beautiful, full of color. It allows us to see and contemplate Chinese culture, especially the traditional culture that has shaped China’s millennia-old civilization,” he said.
Mr. Cavalcante added that Shen Yun’s beauty extends beyond aesthetics, inviting reflection and self-examination.
“Those who come have the opportunity to contemplate and to learn the true values of Chinese culture, such as kindness and goodness—values that today’s world greatly needs. Coming to this performance is a chance to contemplate beauty, but also to review one’s own life, to see where we are setting our actions and our lifestyles today,” he said.
Mr. Cavalcante was full of praise for the dancers’ artistry.
“Classical Chinese dance has a beauty and a lightness. It truly blends the acrobatic dimension of the performance with beauty and grace. Everything is very present and harmonious—it is a beauty that truly touches the heart,” he said.
“The music is very beautiful, very relaxing. When someone comes to see this performance, when they leave, it is as if they have been recharged,” he said.
Mr. Cavalcante said the spiritual dimension of the performance resonated with him profoundly and offered an uplifting message for modern society.
“By contemplating this kind of performance, society today can once again realize that the human person is not only matter, not only what we see with our eyes. The human person is also spirit, spirituality, soul. And this performance underscores this dimension very well,” he said.
Reflecting further, he described a deep sense of shared spiritual understanding.
“Yes, I am a Christian, a Catholic priest, but I felt a deep connection. The dimension of spirituality and divinity in today’s world seems to be suffocated, but in truth, it is very present. And when cultures present the spiritual dimension of divinity, there is a deep connection; it is as if everything were one, through this message,” he said.
The evening ultimately left Mr. Cavalcante with a sense of peace and renewal. Although he had arrived after a demanding day filled with commitments, the performance brought him unexpected serenity.
“I truly came from a rather full day, with many commitments, but it was as if it were a prayer for me. I leave here with peace in my soul,” he said.
