Shen Yun was terrible indeed

2013-01-05

Kristen S.
San Diego, CA
12/26/2012

I just got home from a very disappointing evening at the Civic Theater. Shen Yun was terrible. First, there were no stage sets, only a big screen with only pictures of scenery! The dancing was terrible. I felt like I was at a high school show. They did the same dances over and over. Every dance had about 20 dancers and there was never any one dancer who stood out as a star. As for acrobatics, there were only a few handsprings here and there, not at all impressive. The worst part was the boring announcers that came out between each set to announce the next dance. I left at intermission. I couldn't take anymore. What a huge waste of my money and time.

Lily H.
San Diego, CA
12/27/2012

Shen Yun in San Diego was terrible indeed. It really bothers me that it is run by a political organization yet packaged as an art group. In fact the whole show is about marketing a cult-like "religion" (Falun Gong), which was banned in China.

I personally have no issue with this "religion", but the show does not market itself honestly as so. In fact it sickens me that we had pay very high prices to indirectly support their cause without being informed in advance. This to me is dishonest and I do not appreciate this forced contribution. The songs (opera singers sing Chinese songs about waking up to Gods's calling....etc) you hear are about worshiping of their "religious beliefs", and the dances are repetitive in motion and choreography, with the exception of different color outfits. The dancers are talented but the show was done very poorly, in bad taste. I am very disappointed and feel cheated.

Caroline S.
San Diego, CA
12/27/2012

If you like a little dancing with your propaganda, then this is the show for you. I purchased tickets for my entire family last year for this show, after going on their website and watching the promotional videos (which, by the way, make NO mention of their political agenda).

What an outrage. The promotional posters make it look like this would be a show with acrobatics and martial arts. It's not. The dancing is tepid. The dancers' feet barely left the ground. Their routines look like synchronized swimming, but on foot and on a stage. And EVERY THIRD "dance" was a thinly-veiled political melodrama about Big Bad Evil China oppressing Poor Little Falun Dafa Practitioners.

I never had anything against Falun Dafa or Falun Gong before seeing this show BUT I DO NOW.

Good job guys. Way to convert people to your cult, I mean, cause.

Lynn Q.
Carlsbad, CA
12/30/2012

I agree with Kristin S.'s review in every way. Just saw the 2 pm show in Escondido. I paid $150. per seat for 4 persons and I want to cry for wasting that money.

I kept waiting for something spectacular to happen to justify the enormous amount of money I spent to watch the same dancing over and over and over and over again .

There were few acrobatics at all, and nothing a high school gymnastics team could not handle. Other than costume changes and new scarf -type accessories, there was nothing to distinguish one dance from another. Our group of 4 had no idea what was going on from scene to scene despite the constant commentary from the MC's in- between each dance, which became extremely irritating after 15 minutes into the first act. It was like being at Lawrence Welk Live show. All they did was tell you what "exciting" area of China you would step into next, with some occasional corny quips.

The digital backdrop is not exciting and the dancers coming in and out of the backdrop from the platform in front of it becomes mundane after seeing it 3 times and more. As for the political undertones... we did not expect this and were confused by it. Unless you research the basis of Falun Gong you will be clueless as to what is going on. The narrators do not explain this.

The only redeeming aspect of this performance is the orchestra... the instrumentals are beautiful and if you want to close your eyes and listen to the music you'll be more than pleased. The soloists have beautiful voices and should also be mentioned.

We all felt we should have left after intermission. This was a boring show for all my guests. Should have stayed home to watch the last day of regular season football....

K W.
Carlsbad, CA
12/31/2012

The advertisement is deceiving. It sounds like the art if ancient Chinese dance but its really about Falun Gong as other reviewers stated. And the back of the brochure says it is a non-profit organization. Tickets are way overpriced. We paid 100 each and I felt the performance was worth about 30-40 max.

(Yelp.com,31,December,2012)