SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Shows ‘There’s Beauty and Hope in Everything,’ Says Artist

Mar 11, 2026

3/11/2026Updated: 3/11/2026

MELBOURNE, Australia—Artist Amy Carlin and her father, Graham McIlwaine, a breeder of thoroughbreds, had a wonderful time attending Shen Yun Performing Arts’ fifth show at the Plenary Theatre on March 10.

Outside the theater at the end of the evening, Ms. Carlin said she “absolutely was in heaven watching this performance.”

“It was just phenomenal, and it was just so incredibly moving,” she exclaimed. “The whole thing, and the story, and the movement, and the expression, and the music—I just loved it. I would recommend everyone watch this.”

New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution by the communist regime.

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The artists’ mission is to return to the world’s stage the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

Also involved in the performing arts industry, Ms. Carlin especially appreciated the skill and talent of Shen Yun’s artists.

“I absolutely loved it. It was just so beautiful,” she shared. “It really touched my heart listening to the singing in this and the music, and the dancing was just like out of this world. I just loved it.”

“I just felt so much emotion. I actually cried at one point.”

Mr. McIlwaine, too, was impressed by the expressiveness of Shen Yun’s live orchestra.

It is the first in the world to successfully and permanently combine Western and Eastern instruments. Shen Yun’s original compositions feature a classical Western foundation paired with heartrending Chinese melodies.

“The musical score was exceptional,” Mr. McIlwaine said. The mix of Western and traditional Chinese was, like, really good. The leady who played the erhu, the two stringed [instrument,] wow. ”

Ms. Carlin was especially moved by the story-based dance raising awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution of people of faith, as well as by Shen Yun’s singers, whose songs explore deeper meanings of life.

“It’s heavenly. I was crying when [the dance began about the] persecution that happened. And then also when the lady was singing, I was just full of tears. It was really beautiful,” she said. “It’s just like it makes me feel a lot of emotion, just so heavenly and beautiful. Very touching.”

Shen Yun showed “that there’s beauty and hope in everything. No matter how hard things are, always remember that there’s hope and beauty.”

Not a man of many words, when asked what he would be bringing home from Shen Yun, Mr. McIlwaine replied simply, “It’s the truth.”

Ms. Carlin agreed. “It’s hard to even find the words to describe [Shen Yun] because it’s so phenomenal that you feel speechless,” she said. “It was just really divine, the whole performance.”

Reporting by Jing Li 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.