PARIS, France—Shen Yun returns to the City of Light, continuing an adventure that has now lasted 20 years. Paris is one of the major capitals that welcomed the classical Chinese dance and music company when it first began in 2006.
Pascal Lesselingue is one of those retirees who are still active: the former president of a transportation company is now deputy mayor of the Paris suburb of L'Haÿ-les-Roses.
This deputy mayor, in charge of ecological transition, had heard a lot about Shen Yun. He also researched the show and decided to come and experience Shen Yun at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.
“The show is very refreshing ... It’s full of color. It’s full of life and very, very pleasant to watch. It’s fluid. It’s very nice!”
“You feel completely caught up in the show,” enthused the deputy mayor, who was discovering classical Chinese dance with wonder. Classical Chinese dance is one of the most comprehensive dance systems, drawing its movement techniques, acrobatics, and postures from thousands of years of practice in ethnic and folk dances, street theater, and imperial court dances.
Based in New York, Shen Yun’s mission is to present 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture in its dance and song performances. “I am a supporter of ancestral traditions,” said Mr. Lesselingue. “And I find that reviving this ancestral tradition through these performances is something quite extraordinary because it is the history of China. Shen Yun has brought this history back to life, and it is indeed something very enjoyable. ”
“For me, the future is the future, the present is the present, and the past is the past. However, I think that everything should be intertwined. History is important for all people. For all people on this earth, the history of each civilization is important, and I think Shen Yun is able to give us a small dose of this ancient tradition through its performances.”
In addition to dance scenes depicting famous stories and characters from traditional China, Shen Yun exposes the ongoing persecution of practitioners of Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Since 1999, the Chinese Communist regime has persecuted, harassed, imprisoned, and tortured to death practitioners of this method. Forced organ harvesting is also perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party on these practitioners in Chinese prisons.
Mr. Lesselingue learned about this persecution and also came to learn more through the show: “There is so much going on in the world today that trying to bring a different form of struggle through shows ... It is extremely important to bring all this back to life and to fight in a peaceful way against oppression, since that is somewhat the purpose of the show. ”
The municipal representative felt a sense of kindness, particularly through the dancers: “You feel good when you watch the show. I truly believe that someone who has kindness transmits it to others. And this kindness is there, it exists, and you can feel it.”
Nicolas Fourdrinier, a notary, attended a “very graceful, very lively show” during Shen Yun's performance on Jan. 23, 2026, in Paris. NTD
A ‘Very Graceful and Very Lively Performance’
On Friday, January 23, Nicolas Fourdrinier was captivated by a “very graceful and very lively performance.” The notary discovered “exceptional dancers,” whose “very high” artistic level led him to compare Shen Yun to the classical ballets performed at the Paris Opera.
Shen Yun means “the beauty of divine beings dancing” in Chinese, because its mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional culture imbued with spirituality. Indeed, the ancient Chinese all believed that their culture was transmitted by the gods. Taoism, Confucianism, or Buddhism, everyone, from the humblest peasant to the majestic emperor, praised the deities and respected the harmony between Heaven, Earth, and Man.
“You can feel the mystical side of things and the message that comes through this mythological aspect,” said Mr. Fourdrinier.
The notary felt “a soothing, natural message of peace. Very pleasant!”
He therefore suggests to all those who “want to get away from the news and return to simple things, that this is a beautiful show that you must come and see!”
“A return to simplicity and the real things that we should cherish,” concluded the notary.
Reporting by Sarita Modmesaïb and translated by Sarita Modmesaïb.
