For two decades, artists with Shen Yun Performing Arts have travelled around the world as part of their mission to revive China’s age-old “divinely inspired” culture and bring it to audiences far and wide.

The New York-based classical Chinese dance and company began the Canadian leg of its 2026 world tour on March 12 in Hamilton, Ont., and is scheduled to play in several cities across the country between now and April 12, including in downtown Toronto and Vancouver.

For Drea Vujovic, a former model who once lived in Shanghai, seeing dozens of dancers all wearing elaborate costumes was an “Oscars moment.” Shen Yun, based in upstate New York, has taken it as its mission to revive China’s traditional culture, which has been suppressed by decades of communist rule in China.

“I can’t put into words how I feel inside watching this,” Vujovic said after the performance in Hamilton on March 12. “The colours, the costumes, whoever did that—if this was an Oscars moment, ‘Best Costume’ would go to whoever did the costumes. They’re phenomenal.”

Sue Maya Hawass, who is a professional ballroom dancer and a clinic manager, closely watched the dancers’ every gesture and facial expression at the performance in Mississauga on March 14.

“I was impressed by the unity of everybody, they were all synchronized,” Hawass said. “In a group dance it’s very hard to synchronize, so to see very synchronized [movements] all the way to the fingers, to the toes, even the facial expressions, the walk—it was very beautiful to watch.”

Initially formed in 2006, Shen Yun has eight equally large companies that tour the globe each year, staging exhilarating performances of classical Chinese dance and music.

Former Swiss world champion figure skater Stéphane Lambiel, who saw Shen Yun in Lausanne, Switzerland, in February, said the technical aspects of the performance were complemented by the beauty of the artists’ personalities and expressions.

“I really liked the overall sensitivity of all the artists. It was very delicate, with a lot of precision,” he said.

“It was a wonderful experience,” Kuruc said after the performance in Hamilton on March 12. “Much of China’s past has been forgotten, and it’s [performances] like this that remind us of the rich and vibrant culture that China used to have before communism.”

Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and vocal soloists, all accompanied by a live orchestra that blends Western and Chinese instruments. Its name can be translated as “The beauty of divine beings dancing,” which can be seen in the wide array of colourful costumes worn by the performers. Time-honoured motifs—like the phoenix, the peacock, and the dragon—appear with their own dance segments; beauty for beauty’s sake on display.

Mississauga’s Deputy Mayor John Kovac, who saw the show on March 14, said Shen Yun allows theatregoers to be “uplifted and educated, and enthralled by the beauty that has been on display.”

With the dancers motivated by a mission they deeply believe in, audiences say this passion shows onstage. Princess Françoise Sturdza, a princess of Romanian origin and founder of the Heart for India Foundation, saw the show in Lausanne, Switzerland, in February, and praised Shen Yun for the lofty mission it has undertaken as well as its execution onstage.

“I came for the artistic vision, for the perfection, and for the work that has been accomplished. But also because of the company’s mission, because that’s what gives this show its soul. That’s why this show is unique,” she said.

During recent performances in Mississauga, Ontario MPP Sheref Sabawy presented Shen Yun with a proclamation celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary, and encouraged all Canadians to see the performance.

“Everybody should see [Shen Yun] because it’s a wonderful kind of opportunity. It’s here,” he said.

Shen Yun has performed in Hamilton, Mississauga, and Kitchener during its 2026 Canadian tour and is set to perform in Toronto from March 28 to April 5, and in Vancouver from April 8 to April 12.