SAN JOSE, Calif.—On Christmas Eve, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts opened the first show of its 2026 North American tour in San Jose to an enthusiastic audience at the Center for the Performing Arts
Among those in attendance were Mike Wilson, a church minister, and his wife, who were returning for their second Shen Yun performance. This time, they found the experience even better than they remembered.
The show was “much more varied. I like the different kinds of performances. … Very, very talented people,” Mr. Wilson said.
The dancers are “Flying through the air, it’s amazing. Very acrobatic and very entertaining to watch. With the message that runs through it all—I would recommend others see it.”
According to its website, the name ‘Shen Yun” translates directly into “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” Founded in 2006, the company’s artists have made it their mission to revive, through dance and music, China’s divinely inspired civilization to its pre-communist glory.
Though Shen Yun is well-beloved by audiences around the world, it is currently forbidden by the ruling Chinese regime from performing in China. In fact, many of its founding members had fled to America to escape persecution by the communist party.
Reflecting on the dance pieces raising awareness of ongoing human rights issues in present-day China, Mr. Wilson said, “There are some realities in the world [that the] Chinese Communist Party would not like [to have] communicated. But the fact that they are communicated in dance and it is part of the real world that we have to confront, whether we like it or not, it gives people something to think about and research.”
“I think doing it through the medium of dance and the performances—it’s a way to reach people that otherwise probably would never be reached.”
Mr. Wilson also enjoyed Shen Yun’s live music, which cleverly used classical Western orchestration as its foundation, layering in solo Chinese instruments, such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa, an ancient lute. He was especially pleased to get a seat right next to the orchestra.
“It’s been too long since we came last. We’re on the first row, right next to the orchestra, and [they’re] very talented,” he expressed. “I really liked it. It’s a good mix between East and West.”
