SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Theatergoer Says Shen Yun Very Relevant in Modern Society

Jan 17, 2026

1/17/2026Updated: 1/17/2026

LONDON, UK—Jon Leppard attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Eventim Apollo on Jan. 17 and was pleased with all that he saw.

“I think it’s really nice. It’s really good. I’ve not seen anything like it before, so it’s nice to see things I did not see when I was in China. I’ve been to a few shows over there, but none of them like this,” he said.

New York-based Shen Yun’s mission is to revive and share 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture before communism and to have the lessons and stories be relevant to the modern world.

Mr. Leppard agreed. “It’s more relevant in the current time because I think a lot of people just flick through their phones and look at images, and even worse, now with AI as well,” he said.

“It brings back the human part, or the human form of history. It’s not just words, it’s actually people and emotion,” he said.

Mr. Leppard, a director of a company that does business in China, said he was especially impressed with Shen Yun’s patented backdrop where performers seem to jump in and out of the fantasy landscape.

“I think for me, it was the technology you’re enhancing with the stories of the culture. It’s very, very cool,” he said.

With his travel experience in China, Mr. Leppard said Shen Yun was more than learning about Chinese culture. “[It was] an enjoyment of the culture.”

Shen Yun’s dancers are trained extensively before going on tour, and Mr. Leppard appreciated their training and skill.

“Superb,” he said. “We’re seeing many cultures, many cultures dance [during the program]. The choreography is lovely to see, and it’s diverse.”

A piece that stood out for Mr. Leppard was “How the Monkey King Came to Be,” a story from the Chinese classic “Journey to the West.”

He liked how the story showed characters magically transformed. He liked the storytelling in one dance, “but I can’t figure out yet how you changed the old man’s beard and his clothes into a young person.”

Another favorite was the dance about Zhang Guolao and his magical donkey. Mr. Leppard said, “[It was] very, very clever.”

He said he anticipated listening to Shen Yun’s orchestra. Every Shen Yun performance has an orchestra with Eastern and Western instruments that plays original music in a harmonious blend.

“I was looking forward to that as well,” Mr. Leppard said. “I enjoy it. I play music as well. So it’s always nice to have a live orchestra. It brings a better harmony to a production.”

Many audience members commented on the luminous colors of the costumes, and Mr. Leppard agreed.

“That’s the beauty of the culture,” he said. “It’s not just the storytelling by people. It’s storytelling by costume as well.”

Reporting by Jenna Zhan and Yvonne Marcotte.

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