SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun, ‘Beyond What You Could Expect Any Human Beings to Produce’ Says Oxford Patron

Jan 10, 2026

1/10/2026Updated: 1/10/2026

OXFORD, UK—Pamela Codrington, a property developer in West Oxfordshire, was amazed by Shen Yun Performing Arts at Oxford New Theatre on Jan. 10.

Her first time seeing Shen Yun, Ms. Codrington hadn’t heard about the performance until last December, when she picked up a pamphlet and immediately bought her ticket.

“I couldn’t imagine what I was going to see,” she said, “I knew it was a spectacle, but it’s almost beyond what you could expect any human beings to produce.”

“Sensational, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” she added, “it’s absolutely divine to see something so beautiful … it almost makes me cry.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance company. Featuring a live orchestra that blends Eastern and Western instrumentation and authentic classical Chinese dance that has been passed down through antiquity.

Since 2006, Shen Yun has performed at top theatres worldwide with a mission to revive China’s traditional culture. Drawing upon ancient Chinese Buddhist and Daoist philosophies, Shen Yun says its performances demonstrate “China before communism.”

Ms. Codrington was impressed with the variety of the performance, which offered both classical Chinese and ethnic folk dances, as well as story-based vignettes that depict heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales.

“You get the sort of variety, from the beautiful classical things to the animals and other interpretations of things … it’s an amazing show,” she said.

In regard to the dancers, Ms. Codrington said, “they must train for an awful long time … the discipline is almost mind-blowing.

“Every time you see them move … it’s like a feather,” she said, “you really can’t see it’s human beings, almost, because they’re so, so talented.”

Ms. Codrington was likewise impressed with the performers’ storytelling dance skills.

According to Shen Yun’s website, coordinating facial expressions with physical movements results in an amplified form of expression. With its flips and gentle elegance, classical Chinese dance is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms.

“It was amazing for the company to be able to produce such a high degree of acting, apart from the beauty and the color and the music,” she said.

“The interpretation … you don’t need any words, you can follow that all the way through. You know what’s happening,” she added.

Ms. Codrington commended the performers and the company staff.

“I really, really congratulate the whole company. It’s beautiful, it’s interesting, it’s exciting,” she said, “well done, all of them.”

“I couldn’t recommend anybody else more,” she added, “I’ve told friends who live in different parts of England where [Shen Yun’s] going, to book if they possibly can.”

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.

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