SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Latvian Singer: Shen Yun Embodies What Is Important in Our Family

Jan 06, 2026

1/6/2026Updated: 1/6/2026

RIGA, Latvia—Elīna Šimkus, a Latvian singer, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening performance at the Dailes Theatre on Jan. 3, 2026.

“I felt very deeply, genuinely moved, and truly overwhelmed by many different emotions. This show embodies an absolute quintessence of what is important in our family: the beauty of culture—an absolute, divine beauty—truth, and traditional values,” Ms. Šimkus said.

Shen Yun, based in New York, is on a mission to present “China before communism,” and revive people’s connection with 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and culture.

“Music together with the art of dance—the absolute embodiment of beauty in every aspect: music, dance, precision, vitality, smiles, faces, energy, costumes, colors, video projections. [Shen Yun] is a fantastic quintessence of absolute beauty,” Ms. Šimkus said.

According to Shen Yun’s website, “Ancient Chinese legends tell that humans came from heaven, and that we all have a great yearning to return.”

Ms. Šimkus shared that in Shen Yun, she saw, “A sense of absolute clarity and purity, a striving toward true values, morality, and a clean, clear life. With the understanding that we are only guests in this world—we do not know where we came from or where we are going. Therefore, we should live this life as purely and truthfully as possible, with blessing, so that we do not regret our experiences in the next life.”

Ms. Šimkus also found similarities between Shen Yun’s mission and the struggles that Catholics have experienced.

“I feel a very gentle similarity with traditional Catholic faith and the struggle that we Catholics carry out—to fight against the darkness of the world, injustice, and wrong or harmful things. To root them out with purity, clarity, and true traditional values, and to raise our children from an early age by teaching them what is good and right,” she said.

Shen Yun’s singers are trained in bel canto technique, and the digital backdrop provides a translation of the Chinese text being sung.

“I really liked that I followed the text closely, and I will admit that I even wiped away a tear or two, understanding and seeing what she was singing about,” Ms. Šimkus said.

Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.