MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Kim Everson, a veterinarian and the owner of an animal clinic, was impressed with Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Marcus Performing Arts Center on March 21, 2026.
“It was just very, very magical,” she said. “The stories … the fairy tales, the costumes, music—everything about it was just stunning.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with Chinese folk and ethnic dance as well as a live orchestra with solo vocal and instrumental virtuosos, the production presents story-based dances that depict the history and traditional culture of China from ancient times to the present day.
In regard to classical Chinese dance, which is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms in the world, Ms. Everson said, “It’s just stunning and mesmerizing. … You just get so absorbed in it, you don’t even realize just how athletic they are and talented because you can’t stop watching. It’s so fast and effortless looking.”
“I think we liked the spinning,” she added. “Everybody always cheered when the [dancers] were spinning and spinning.”
According to the company website, Shen Yun not only preserves the classical dance system’s true aesthetics as it was passed down from antiquity. But the company’s costumes and colors are true to traditional aesthetics and styles as well.
Ms. Everson was wowed by the company’s patented method of integrating a 3D animated backdrop with the stage performance. It allows the performers to remarkably travel back and forth between the stage and the background projection.
“We were amazed every time they jumped through the screen and back and changed costumes.”
Since 2006, Shen Yun has performed at top theatres worldwide with a mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture. Drawing upon ancient China’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies, Shen Yun says its performances demonstrate “China before communism.”
Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. According to the company’s website, the presented heroes embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization and convey morals that are still relevant.
“When there’s politics and language barriers, art and dance and music [are] a good way to get connected to people in other parts of the world,” Ms. Everson said.
“It connects us,” she said. “There’s a lot of universality to it … [and] there’s so many similarities … in morality and what’s important to people and kindness toward others.”
