The 2018 Shen Yun world tour is about to begin.
The 5 Shen Yun companies are about to deliver 500 shows in 130 cities across 5 continents. This is Shen Yun’s 12th world tour since its establishment in 2006.
On Dec 22, Shen Yun will take the stage in 4 cities; Waterbury, Burlington, Kansas city and Houston in states Connecticut, Vermont, Missouri and Texas respectively. The North American tour will cover hundreds of cities with around 400 shows.
Once again, Shen Yun returns with a new program presenting five millennia of Chinese civilisation. The production features classical Chinese dance, sceno-graphical effects, orchestral works and brilliant costumes, bringing us back to a time of enchanting beauty and enlightening wisdom.
Reputed as the “world’s finest performance,” Shen Yun has attracted a diversity of ethnicities and cultures globally in the last 11 years. Some of whom have even flew to the most prominent theatres just to see it.
Coverage of North American tour being the largest to date
On Dec 7, Shen Yun announced a total of 400 shows in North America which is far greater than the coverage of previous seasons.
The U.S tour will include at least 30 states and Washington DC.
They have also announced 50 shows in 11 Texas cities; 20 shows in 3 New York cities; 30 shows in 8 Florida cities; and 60 shows in 14 Californian cities. Last season, New York-based Shen Yun had 5 touring companies performing simultaneously around the globe. They have broken ticket sales records in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas and in Van Couver.
In addition, tickets have been sold out in many of the 80 shows in the States. In Los Angeles and surrounding regions, tickets were sold out for 50 shows despite added shows and seating being made available in normally reserved sections.
Top right: Honolulu, Hawaii. Bottom right: Buffalo, New York. Bottom left: Newark, New Jersey.
In California, Shen Yun has attracted many renowned actors.
Golden Globe award winner Tim Allen said that Shen Yun has “brought a big smile to [his] face.”
Misha Collins, star of TV series Supernatural brought his children along to Shen Yun which he described as “transcendent.”
Jack Regas, Emmy winner, Hollywood choreographer and director of Bob Hope and Elvis said, “It’s a must” to see Shen Yun.
Some audience members had flown or driven a fair distance to see Shen Yun. Many even crossed regions, cities, states and countries in the process.
Dora Sitar, financial analyst, came all the way from Hawaii to California for the show. She praised the female soprano and was “really moved by her performance.”
John Sitar, Dora’s father, said, “We are ready to come back next year. That’s my experience. We want more. We want more. We want more.”
Laura Doolittle, a public accountant, was unable to attend the show in Dallas, Texas. In Apr 2017, she flew over to the El Paso with her sister and her mother.
Ms Doolittle advised, “Don’t miss it. Buy your ticket today, and go to see it every year you can.”
John McHugh, general manager from Philadelphia, missed out on 12 shows due to tickets being sold out. So he waited for 2 months and drove to New Jersey with his wife for the next performance.
James Riser, a doctor, first saw Shen Yun in New Orleans. Having enjoyed it so much, he drove up to see it the second time in Birmingham.
“It’s just true arts, and such wonderful artists. They take us to places,” says Mr Riser. “This is a wonderful production.”
Ms Wei, a student studying international relations at Toronto University, missed out on tickets for the Toronto shows. In May, she brought her mother along to Buffalo in New York to watch Shen Yun.
South American Argentinians welcome Shen Yun with open arms
In the previous seasons of the South American Shen Yun tour, tickets have always been sold out in Medellin and Bogota in Columbia.
The capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires, featured 10 shows which attracted a large number of audiences. Among these guests there were 15 Argentinian ambassadors, an auditor general, members of parliament, Mayors, national public figures and renowned celebrities.
Some even travelled from Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, to Buenos Aires to watch the show live.
Former UN ambassador for Argentina, Felipe Frydman, saw Shen Yun and said, “it’s really very interesting to have a walk through the past of China and to see the ancient dances. … It’s a very valuable experience for all of us to know much more about Chinese culture.”
Argentinian auditor general, Oscar Lamberto said that the show was very worthwhile.
Argentinian MP Fernando Solanas came to watch Shen Yun after hearing about Shen Yun from others. He confirmed that it was indeed a spectacular performance and not to be missed.
After the show, another MP Stella Huczak said that she would definitely recommend Shen Yun to her colleagues. She said that a performance as such must be publicized widely, and that everyone must come to watch it. Huczak would like Shen Yun to return to Argentina annually and would welcome them with doors open.
Southern America has invited Shen Yun to perform in 2018. Shen Yun has announced 10 shows in Buenos Aires in March 2018.
Europe awaits for divine theatrical experience
In Europe, many townships value the creative expression of arts. The enchanting experience of an eastern theatrical civilisation is especially appealing to them. Shen Yun will first arrive in London, England, where 10 shows have been scheduled at the famous Dominion Theatre.
On Dec 7, Shen Yun has also announced shows in Berlin, Germany; Paris, France; and 13 other European cities.
Last season, Shen Yun has brought 40 shows to Germany, France, England, Austria, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Spain. In 18 cities and 9 countries, most shows have been completely sold out.
A number of European public figures, celebrities and renowned businessmen were astounded by the power of Shen Yun. They were deeply touched by the divine culture and the heavenly sight. On Apr 7 2017, the Egyptian prince Alexandre-Ali Orloff attended the Geneva show and said that Shen Yun brings the greatest joy to one’s soul, sight, hearing, and all senses. He said that it was very important for his family and for his children to learn about traditional Chinese culture.
Dr. Michael Otto, owner of a distribution company in Germany, attended the show on Apr 1 in Hamburg and said, “It is great that now, such culture is brought to our future.”
Stefan Englund, a businessman, flew to Berlin from Gothenburg in Sweden. During the show, Mr Englund said that it was a superb experience when he saw divine beings descend from the skies.
Four star hotel owner Joseph Puchas travelled a distance of 200km with a friend to the Burgtheater in Vienna for Shen Yun. He said that his hotel was quite luxurious. However, it was a pity that it was so far away. Otherwise he would have invited the Shen Yun performers to stay over.
The galleries and architecture in Paris have been known to hold the most complete collection of historical artistic creations in the Western society. The arrival of Shen Yun in Paris has allowed the best from both Western and Eastern civilisations to cross paths.
Renowned French artist, painter and poet, Jocelyn Ortega, described Shen Yun as a beautiful paradise.
Charlène Belahsen, a fashion designer, recognised “tolerance and forbearance” as the take home message.
Large scale world tour with 40 shows in 7 cities of Oceania
In 2017, the Sydney Lyric theatre posted a “fully seated” sign on its doors when Shen Yun tickets have been sold out. Since then, Shen Yun has planned to enlarge the scale of its tour in Oceania in 2018.
The tour commences on Jan 24 with 7 shows in Perth and Sydney. Including 5 other Australian cities and Auckland, New Zealand, there will be 40 shows in total.
In Australia, the audience was empowered by the core values and culture of ancient China. On Mar 24 2017, Rachel Carling- Jenkins, a member of the Victorian legislative council, attended Shen Yun at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. She rated Shen Yun as the best performance she has ever seen. “There were some really strong moral values displayed in tonight’s performance”said Mrs Jenkins. “I was greatly impacted by their performance.”
Fred Nile, the Federal President of the Christian Democratic Party, saw the show at the Sydney Lyric theatre. After the show, he stressed the importance of moral values portrayed by the performers and the storylines.
Asia tour features 50 shows in 13 cities of Taiwan and Japan
Last season, Shen Yun concluded its Asian tour with multiple sold out shows in cities Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto in Japan. The second stop was Korea. A total of 9 shows in Goyang, Chuncheon and Busan were all fully seated.
Yi Won, hereditary prince imperial, attended the show in Goyang on Feb 5 2017. He described the show as an unparalleled, leading performance in the arts community. He was enriched and touched by the ties to the five millennia of Chinese history.
The 2017 season of Shen Yun concluded with 35 sold out shows in Taiwan, which has deeply shaken the Taiwanese arts and culture community. Since 2006, Shen Yun has broken ticket sales records in Taiwan annually. In addition, Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen presented flowers to Shen Yun performance arts in 2017 and wished Shen Yun success for its tour.
The president of the legislation yuan, Su Chia-chyuan, said that Shen Yun has made a great contribution in reviving the greatness of Chinese traditions.
Lin Chuan, senior advisor to the president, was recommended to watch Shen Yun and believed that Shen Yun will have a very powerful influence in years to come.
The artistic value of Shen Yun has also been strongly recognised. A prominent Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng praised the harmonious integration of poems, musical pieces, vocals, dance, graphical designs, storylines and colours as well as the originality of the production.
On Feb 18 2017, Hong Kong legislator and MP Leung Yiu-chung flew over to Taiwan for Shen Yun. Unfortunately, Hong Kong was forbidden to host Shen Yun. After the show, Mr Chung suggested a discussion with the local government in order to allow Shen Yun to perform in Hong Kong.
Chung also said that Shen Yun has allowed us to distinguish good from bad, as well as brightness and darkness. He hoped that the audience would also understand these deeper meanings.
Shen Yun has also attracted many Chinese audience members from mainland China. Mr Liu has came overseas to Taiwan to watch Shen Yun. He exclaimed, “Shen Yun is the essence of our history, and our heritage of morality.”
The 2018 season will begin after the Chinese New Year, with a total of 50 shows in store for Asia. Shen Yun has announced shows in 7 cities in Taiwan from Feb 22. The next destination will be 6 cities in Japan.
Translated From: http://www.zhengjian.org
