Shen Yun is one of the best companies that I have worked for in the past 2 decades
There are some unkind biases about Shen Yun online. I have worked as a volunteer for Shen Yun for almost twenty years. I have visited the campus that trains the dancers and musicians in the past. It's a very compassionate environment. Everyone one is very kind and considerate of others. I was deeply touched by the contribution made by everyone in Shen Yun Performing Arts. Everyone has a beautiful heart that they want to bring their best to the audience around the world. I was never told not to take medicine when I was sick. I was told to get treatment when I needed medical attention.
Moi Hung
We have just left the performance in…
We have just left the performance in Madrid, and honestly, it was deeply disappointing. At times, it felt less like a cultural show and more like a vehicle for promoting a very specific ideology associated with Falun Gong. The messaging was surprisingly explicit, suggesting that embracing atheism or the theory of evolution would lead you to hell.In one scene, communist characters suddenly appeared and violently attacked the performers, which felt like a simplistic and poorly developed political critique. The ideological tone was constant and overwhelming.That said, the segments focused on Chinese mythology were beautiful and genuinely enjoyable. The soloist playing the traditional Chinese instrument was outstanding, and the singers and dancers are undeniably talented and highly skilled.However, throughout the show, religious messaging was repeatedly inserted — implying that if you step outside a certain belief system, you are embracing evil or the devil, and that modern values and customs will lead humanity to moral decay, death, and the loss of our souls.While the artistic level of the performers is very high, the strong ideological and religious undertones overshadowed what could otherwise have been a purely cultural and artistic experience.
Jorge Zazo González
Pure propaganda
This is not a performing arts group, it's a far right religious cult using a dance group they've created for proselytising and propaganda. I was absolutely shocked at the messages passed on throughout the show. It should be boycotted once and for all. The advertising is deliberately deceptive to get people to go and make money.
Eirini Spentza
I'm writing this hoping it will stop…
I'm writing this hoping it will stop people wasting there money in UK. Overpriced. Boring totally underwhelming. Don't go. Better acts on BGT And if you dare to complain as we have!! You get ignored. Or threatened with Karma 😦 getting you. They are only interested in getting your money ,for a falsely advertised "spectacular " show. We left an interval. I am contacting trading standards next SO TO REITERATE!! DON'T waste your hard earned cash. And no doubt I will be cursed by even more bad karma. If nothing to answer. Why go on the offensive. Guilty. You will be exposed
Janet Ellams
Pretty lame, I left halfway to end the pain
I guess you could say it’s a show I’ll never forget, not because it was so good, but because it was so bad. The special effects if that’s what you want to call them got pretty boring really quick, so did the dancing and acrobatics. I left at intermission and had no regrets. Now when I see the commercials my wife and I laugh because it was so bad we will never forget.
Serge Rustic
A spiritual show that uplifts
This is a beautiful, spiritual show that really uplifts your soul. The format is really different with lots of different dances, songs and musical performances - layer after layer new things unfold. The live orchestra music is amazing, and the dancing and costumes beautiful. This is quite a relaxing show, and the beautiful scenes washed over me!
Emma Hall
UTTER RUBBISH
UTTER RUBBISHDon't waste you're money, its cheap, tacky, boring, not even particularly skilful dance moves, religious indoctrination, well over priced. The one thing they have got right is their marketing as clearly we were all fooled!
Belle
Disappointing
China is known vibrant and ornate fabrics and costuming. I found most of cast's wardrobe to be cheap looking to the point of distraction. Yes, much of the dance is repetitive, but still lovely. What I did not enjoy were the silly almost Disney cartoon like story lines to the dance skits. There was one where the punchline included a character ripping a large fart. Not the sophisticated and awe inspiring experience I hoped for given the build up and ticket price.
Stephanie Schraven
Performance was not a highly…
Performance was not a highly professional spectacle of amazing Chinese dances and dancers. Very disappointing. Repetitive. Amateurish. Tenor was terrible. The song was not good. Embarrassing. No pace. Not a well orchestrated production. Not worth the price. Far short of what we expected.
Bruce Zwicker
Ripped off by a far-right cult
What a disappointment the show was. Nothing like advertised, just very basic routines in a budget production. The worst bit was the political and religious propaganda throughout the show which we absolutely did not sign up for! I did some digging and turns out Shen Yun is a front for far-right cult Falun Gong, who have racist, homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-vaccine, anti-science, anti-democracy views, and financially support fascist organisations around the world. Maybe not an issue for everyone, but I'm certainly not happy that our money is inadvertently supporting this kind of hate.
Heidi
Totally overhyped and overpriced
Totally overhyped and overpriced. Had I known it was New York based rather than true Chinese I might have been warned. The political side coming from a US based organisation seems particularly inappropriate right now in the light of ICE. And why on earth do they have a young girl speaking Chinese between each dance? Pointless. Not too much Chinese spoken in Llandudno 😂.I wish I had read these reviews before I booked. We walked out at the interval shortly after a piece which is quite traumatic in which the CCP are accused of intimidating followers of Falon Gung of having their eyes gouged out. This may or may not be accurate - I hope not obviously - but it's hardly in keeping with the advertising of the show and there is no age limit other than no under 5's.
Ollie Gark
Waste of money spent
Very disappointed with our experience of this show. Very repetitive so the whole performance dragged on and looking back wished we had left at the intermission. The tenor belted out religious propaganda and would not say he was particularly impressive. Cannot fault the dancers being very talented and graceful. It was cringey at times. All in all a waste of money at the price of the tickets and did not come away feeling I had enjoyed it.
Sheila Fox
Too much Chinese politics
Too much Chinese politics involved in the story lines . dance routines repeated not a good show I would give it a mis
Janet Corner
Underwhelming and banal show, with a clear agenda
An underwhelming and quite banal performance, staged by an organisation who intentionally mislead their (paying!) audience. They promise a spectacle of traditional dance and music, when actually they are just trying to promote their own religious ideas. - A free programme is provided, at least 50% of which is glossy adverts for questionable partner organisations, who clearly have an agenda, some promising to educate your children in a 'virtuous' way. Alarm bells were ringing already!- At one point a pianist accompanies a solo tenor, whose words are displayed in translation on a screen: "Behind atheism and evolution lurks Satan", or some such rubbish- This isn't a show about history, or even politics; it's an attempt by religious people to co-opt you into sitting for 2 hours while they try to indoctrinate and convert you. And the most irritating thing is the fact I paid good money for it! And not a small amount, the tickets are relatively expensive, even for a major venue- The dancing is repetative, every routine looks similar- The music (composition and performance) is unaccomplished- The costumes and staging were at least more interesting and detailed, but this did not in any way improve the experience.In short, my experience was dreadful, and my advice is do not go and see it.
calum
I would give it zero star if I could!
I would give it zero star if I could!! A total scam with false advertising and bogus reviews of how good it is. I have seen better high school productions. Don’t waste your money or time!
Annie
Give it a miss
I so wanted to love this show but came away with a feeling of disappointment. The routines, although well choreographed, seemed very similar; same steps/actions bundled up in a different sketch; presenters poor..seemed to just be filling space; rather expensive; didn’t enjoy the quasi religious/political/right-wing?? theme; rather disjointed.Orchestra and soloist wonderful.
Bettaboo
Worst experience ever!
Worst experience ever!Door men refused a 63yr old & 59yr old entry because we had a bottle or wine earlier with a meal.Never have been so humiliated!!
Martin Oliver
Set your expectations
I went along to this with my wife as part of her Xmas. She loved the TV adverts but balked at the price so it made for a good present. Got off to a bad start as getting to Glasgow armadillo and parking is embarrassingly difficult and time consuming but that was nothing to do with Shen Yun. I hadn't appreciated the show is just a series of dances with no continued story attached. The format was very samey and by the end I was keen for it to finish. The acting that is intertwined with the dance is childish like keystone cops doing children's pantomime and the repeated religious theme with good overcoming bad becomes tedious. That said the costumes were glorious and the twirling and spinning techniques on display were amazing. If this is your thing then you will probably love the show. If seeing the same routines retelling the same story a dozen times is not your idea of fun regardless of the panache then you should save your money
IAN
Shen Yun Glasgow- very disappointing!
Glasgow - a Christmas present for my Mum. Unfortunately we were all disappointed and left at intermission.The hosts were wooden, the dancers were skilled but it was very repetitive. The male host stated that you could not see this type of show in China - true, as I saw a much superior theatre show there last year with more variety and acrobatics. Presented as an entertainment show, the political statements were out of place. And to have a song with lyrics stating that atheism and creationism were following Satan....... We were very much looking forward to this show, but I would not now recommend it to anyone.
Lisa
Beautiful, but needs a new narrator.
Though the costumes and backdrop technology were beautiful and the live orchestra music excellent, the between-scenes narrator who spoke English was unintelligible, a real let-down.
Galapagos 4
