SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

With Shen Yun, ‘You Perceive a Great Message,’ Says a Theatergoer in Montpellier

Mar 05, 2026

3/5/2026Updated: 3/6/2026

MONTPELLIER, France—On Wednesday, March 4, the Corum in Montpellier continued its exploration of 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.

Taking a trip to traditional China from his armchair in Montpellier is the experience Alain Sohier had when he attended a Shen Yun performance.

“Magnificent, magnificent! It’s colorful, rhythmic! It’s fantastic,” said the former civil engineer.

“You can feel the deep-rooted culture.”

“It’s perfect,” he said, “because China is still relatively closed off: we don’t see much, we don’t know much. All these stories that came from the sky and all this civilization, I didn’t know them personally. It’s very, very nice, you can feel a deep culture.”

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the rich traditional culture that spans 5,000 years of history and is deeply spiritual. China was once called the “Celestial Empire” because the ancient Chinese believed their culture was inherited from the divine.

On the Shen Yun website, we read: “The concepts of ‘man and nature must be in harmony,’ ‘honor heaven to know one’s destiny,’ and the five cardinal virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and loyalty (ren yi li zhi xin) are all products of the teachings of the three religions,” Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

The company infuses spirituality and a connection to the divine into its dance and song performances, conveying traditional and universal values such as courage, loyalty, and kindness.

For Alain Sohier, “it’s a powerful message, because today, values no longer exist. We can see that they have been around for thousands of years. I think it would be necessary to pass them on even more strongly, especially in schools, and to young people. We must preserve our traditions, our origins, and this feeling of kindness towards everyone.”

Of all the dance and song performances, Mr. Sohier said he was particularly moved by those depicting the current situation in China with the persecution of Falun Dafa. Since 1999, practitioners of this meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance have been subjected to harassment, persecution, imprisonment, and torture to death in Chinese prisons. Crimes of forced organ harvesting are also being perpetrated by the Chinese communist regime.

“It’s the closest thing to reality, and it’s very moving. The rest is moving too, but it’s history, it’s magic. Whereas in this case, we’re brought back down to earth very quickly, it brings us back to reality.”

When attending Shen Yun, “you don’t just see a show, you perceive a great message,” said the former engineer.

‘Beauty Will Save the World, and Shen Yun Is a Perfect Example of That’

Nathalie Noviant, a business manager, came with her family to experience Shen Yun in Montpellier on March 4, 2026. (NTD) — Nathalie Noviant, a business manager, came with her family to experience Shen Yun in Montpellier on March 4, 2026. NTD

Nathalie Noviant came with her family and granddaughter to experience Shen Yun.

“It was wonderful! So poetic, so graceful! It feels good right now,” said the construction company manager.

“I really liked the Water Sleeves tableau, it was wonderful! The movement is wonderful,” enthused Mrs. Noviant. “I also really liked the dances performed by the Mongolian men and women. I was very moved by the colors and the symbolism. ... It was very, very beautiful!”

The business leader said she was pleasantly surprised to discover the Shen Yun orchestra, as well as soloists such as the baritone, soprano, and erhu player, all accompanied by piano.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all, and it’s a wonderful surprise,” said Mrs. Noviant. “And the pianist is wonderful!”

She also praised the company’s mission: “It’s courageous. I support them because it’s an extraordinary culture, different from ours, but with some similarities, nonetheless. It’s wonderful, keep it up!”

Wanting to learn more about Falun Dafa, Mrs. Noviant said she was unaware of the extent of the persecution in mainland China: “I knew there were several persecutions, but I didn’t know about this one. I took the book that will explain what this meditation is all about.”

The values conveyed by Shen Yun “speak to me deeply,” she said. That’s what I try to pass on to my children and now to my grandchildren. Kindness and tradition, yes. Two key words,“ to which Mrs. Noviant adds “poetry and beauty.”

The business leader says she is “delighted,” leaving with “a light heart and a warm feeling. It’s wonderful! I really recommend it to everyone because you come out feeling lighter, with a desire to discover more beauty.”

“Beauty will save the world, I am convinced of it. And Shen Yun is a perfect example of this,” said Nathalie Noviant.

Reporting by Sarita Modmesaïb and translated from the French language Epoch Times by Sonia Rouleau.