SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is ‘Technologically Good and Humanly Good,’ Says Australian Publisher

Mar 19, 2026

3/19/2026Updated: 3/19/2026

ADELAIDE, Australia—Writer and publisher Jude Aquilina attended Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time on March 18 at the Festival Theatre. The company’s vivid presentation of China’s rich traditional culture filled her with a sense of nostalgia. She loved every element of the performance.

“It’s taking me back to my childhood. The colors are beautiful—I remember sitting on my mother’s bed and going through her button tin and the sparkling buttons, it’s just beautiful,” she shared after the matinee.

“The music—If it was just the music, it’s beautiful—but [with] the dancing and the colors is just amazing. I’m so impressed with the coordination of the dancers, and the message is nice too.”

She was also captivated by the company’s use of 3D digital projection, which seamlessly collaborated with the performers on stage to create a magical effect and enhance storytelling.

“Everyone’s clapping because it’s something completely different. The colors are gorgeous,” Ms. Aquilina said. “When one of the actors blends in with the screen and jumps, we weren’t expecting that. That was really something quite different, and I think it works beautifully.”

“It’s technologically good and humanly good. Beautiful.”

Endowed with 5,000 years of history, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine.” For millennia, its people believed that by keeping their hearts pure and adhering to strict moral standards, they would be blessed by the divine.

Indeed, for 5,000 years, the country prospered. However, after the communist takeover and the spread of atheism, all this traditional culture was systematically destroyed. Today, the New York-based Shen Yun’s mission is to bring back the beauty and goodness of China before communism.

To Ms. Aquilina, the performance conveyed a universal message: “Beauty and kindness are important. No matter where we come from in the world, we can all share beauty and kindness.”

“I like the compassion, being kind to other people, and the fact that we get blurred with the worldly things that are coming at us and the material goods. We have to go back to the spirit[ual],” she added.

“That’s the message I'll take home. In this crazy, busy world, it’s nice to just stop and think and know where we came from.”

She also deeply appreciated Shen Yun’s solo singer and the live orchestra that combined the best of Eastern and Western musical traditions.

Using a classical Western orchestration as a foundation, Shen Yun’s composers highlighted traditional Chinese melodies and instruments such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa, an ancient lute.

“It seems to be a blend of English classical and something completely different with that lovely rhythm. The opera singer—her voice was beautiful. It was so strong. It went throughout the theatre,” she shared.

“So, I’m seeing a mixture of two cultures in the music. … [The music] suits the way that the dancers move, especially the women with those tiny little steps. The music is so in time with their steps, and I love that.”

When asked how she would introduce Shen Yun in just three words, Ms. Aquilina responded without hesitation: “spectacular, unusual, and a pleasure.”

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Tseng.

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