HIGH WYCOMBE, UK—Theatergoers got a taste of ancient culture this Saturday afternoon when Shen Yun Performing Arts danced onstage in the tech-savvy town of High Wycombe, on the outskirts of London.
For over two hours, dozens of dancers and a live orchestra whisked the crowd into mythical Chinese landscapes, palaces, and even the high realms of the heavens. Bringing back the culture that was “almost lost” in China’s Cultural Revolution while presenting “China before communism” is the mission of this New York-based dance company. Not only that, but they also present modern-day China and its human rights issues.
Shen Yun’s message “just makes you think, and in a beautiful way,” said Darren Grattan, a sales manager, who spoke with The Epoch Times at the Wycombe Swan Theatre after today’s show. “It was spectacular, beautiful costumes. The actual dancing is amazing. The story—fantastic. It made you laugh, it made you think as well, which is really good.”
In business for 20 years, Shen Yun was founded by Chinese expats who fled China to escape religious persecution. Many of its artists are Falun Gong practitioners who now wish to share the reality their faith faces under the oppressive and officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP). While the group is known for presenting a stunningly gorgeous and uplifting stage production, their mission extends beyond mere aesthetics.
They want to achieve nothing less than a cultural “renaissance.”
Darren Grattan (L) and Ian Cox (R) enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Wycombe Swan Theatre in the UK on Feb. 28, 2026. James Xu/The Epoch Times
Ian Cox, who works in finance, appreciated the company’s showcase of ancient tales and their moral values. The Chinese fables with traditional Buddhist monks were “really good,” he said. They include a message: “Be kind.” The show also featured the famed Monkey King and the Chinese story of creation—a markedly spiritual number that opens the program.
Shen Yun offers a “different perspective on things, especially if [people] like myself are not fully spiritual all the time,” Cox said. “Seeing stuff like that does make you think.”
Valerie Corrigall (L) and Darla Bante enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Wycombe Swan Theatre in the UK on Feb. 28, 2026. Ming Li/The Epoch Times
Since Shen Yun is forbidden from performing in China, its dancers, when they aren’t on tour, train hard on the company’s mountain campus in upstate New York, honing the millennia-old art of classical Chinese dance.
Darla Bante, a now-retired IT professional, was taken aback by the dancers’ movements, which are simultaneously graceful and athletic. “It takes a lot of skill to make something look so simple, and they make it look very easy, but I know it isn’t easy,” Bante told the newspaper. “I really appreciate their time and skill and dedication to keeping traditional Chinese stories alive and introducing those stories to other audiences.”
Flowing seamlessly with the dancers, Shen Yun’s symphony orchestra includes Chinese instruments, like the pipa and two-stringed erhu, as well as classical Western strings, percussion, and winds. The costumes, all researched from manuscripts, are simply divine.
“It’s very lovely music,” Bante said. “The dancing is brilliant. The colors, very, very nice.”
