Shen Yun 2024
China Before Communism
There was a time when emperors ruled dynasties, heroes became legends, and the world was full of magic and miracles. What if you could experience this world again?
This February, Shen Yun returns to Australia, bringing this lost world to life with unrivalled mastery.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premiere classical Chinese music and dance company. Founded in New York in 2006, it is the only company that accurately depicts traditional Chinese culture as it was before communist rule.
“Shen Yun literally means ‘the beauty of divine beings dancing’,” says Julianne Xu, one of the company’s bilingual presenters. “It’s a very rare kind of arts group. Shen Yun presents to audiences all over the world a true Chinese culture, something you don’t see even in modern-day China.”
Classical Chinese Dance as Never Seen Before
Classical Chinese dance also has an acting component and is known for its expressiveness. Dancers can vividly depict a wide range of emotions and virtues—from happiness and sadness to righteousness and wickedness. Movements can be masculine or soft, vigorous or graceful, sombre or playful.
Such range is achieved through a dancer’s bearing and form. Bearing refers to the expression of inner spirit. In classical Chinese dance, a dancer’s inner world is just as important as the accuracy of his or her movements. Particular attention is paid to synchronising breathing and gestures, making movements appear to emanate directly from the dancer’s soul.
Classical Chinese dance’s external form includes hundreds of unique movements and postures. An accomplished performer makes them appear effortless, but they require immaculate coordination of the entire body that takes years of rigorous training. A dancer’s every pore—from toes to fingertips, from the angle of the head to the direction of the gaze—must be in perfect harmony.
Classical Chinese dance also has an extensive array of challenging techniques. Jumps, spins, flips, aerials, and difficult tumbling techniques enhance a dancer’s expressive powers and bring vigorous physicality and tremendous energy to the stage.
Lost Techniques, Highest Realm
Shen Yun presents two long-lost classical Chinese dance techniques, “shen-dai-shou” (the body leads the arms) and “kua-dai-tui” (the hips lead the legs). The two techniques represent the highest realm in dance techniques. According to Shen Yun’s website, these techniques are “unmatchable methods for elongating the limbs in dance, lengthening a dancer’s movements and poses. With these methods, dancers attain not only greater range, but also grander aura, more expressivity, and smoother, more flowing execution. In addition, they gain even greater strength, speed, and momentum in their jumps, spins, flips, and other technical moves.”
These techniques were traditionally passed down from master to student, following the ancient Chinese method of mentoring. But over time, they were almost lost. Now, Shen Yun founder and Artistic Director, known as Mr. D.F., has been able to teach these methods to Shen Yun’s dancers. This means they can once again be presented to the public as part of Shen Yun’s mission to revive China’s divinely inspired culture.
Watch: The Technical Moves of Classical Chinese Dance
“It was an extraordinary experience,” Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett told reporters after watching Shen Yun in Sydney. “The level of skill, but also the power of the archetypes and the narratives were startling. And of course it was exquisitely beautiful.”
2024 Global Tours
Returning this year with an all-new program, Shen Yun’s eight equally sized companies—each with a live orchestra—kicked off their world tour in December. Including over 200 cities across more than 20 countries and spanning five continents, this season marks the company’s most extensive tour yet.
In addition to touring Australia, Shen Yun will be visiting 43 states in the United States and four provinces in Canada. In South America, the company will return to Brazil and is scheduled to return to the Caribbean and perform for the first time in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The scale of Shen Yun’s 2024 European tour is also poised to surpass previous years. Performances will span over 50 cities across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries. Audiences can also watch Shen Yun’s performances in 24 cities across Asia and Australia.
For a theatrical experience that’s both enriching and entertaining, there is no better choice than Shen Yun!
Shen Yun will tour Australia from 23 February to 23 March 2024.
Gold Coast 23–25 Feb
Brisbane 26–27 Feb
Bendigo 1–3 Mar
Canberra 5–6 Mar
Sydney 8–17Mar
Perth 19–23 Mar
Watch trailer and what audiences are saying, https://syshow.co/bkzrzB
For tickets and more information, visit shenyun.com/Tickets
