Shen Yun Performing Arts Launches European Tour

(Minghui.org) On Christmas Day, fans waited excitedly in the lobby of Milan Airport in Italy holding “Welcome Shen Yun Performing Arts” banners to greet the Shen Yun artists. Over the next five months, four Shen Yun companies will present approximately 300 performances in 14 European countries to an estimated 600,000 audience members. 

The city of Florence is known as the birthplace of the Renaissance. On the evening of December 27, audience members formed a long line as they waited to enter the May Music Festival Theater to see Shen Yun. This happened every day for the next four days, and all four performances were sold out in advance. Audience members said they not only fulfilled their wish to see Shen Yun, but many said they also felt divinity, hope, and peace. Some were moved to tears as soon as the curtain opened.

On the evening of December 27, the European premiere of Shen Yun’s 2025 season was held in Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.

Returning to Traditional Values

Piotr Huang, one of Shen Yun’s principal dancers, said he is also very excited. Over the past six months, he and other Shen Yun performers learned new dances to bring them to the audience in the 2025 season. “We’ve been waiting to meet our European audience,” he added. 

Shen Yun principal dancer Piotr Huang in an interview at Milan Airport in Italy on December 25. 

“In my understanding, I think that art itself exists to glorify the Divine. In ancient Italian art, especially during the Renaissance, this characteristic is particularly prominent,” Huang explained. “Shen Yun is essentially doing the same thing – reviving tradition.”

Principal dancer Lillian Parker said, “Every time I come to Europe, I am always so inspired by how beautiful [it is] and by the history. So I hope that through our performances, I can give some of that back to the audience. I think Shen Yun shows the very spiritual side of Chinese culture. It gives people the hope and inspiration to find the goodness in themselves again.”

Shen Yun's principal dancer Lillian Parker was also interviewed at the Milan Airport.

Shen Yun trumpeter Eric Robins said he was also very excited. “I know Italy is steeped in history and culture from all ranges of genres. So I’m very honored to be here,” he said. “You could say our music is divinely inspired. It’s got these melodies that are told directly from the perspective of portraying all of these traditional [values].”

Eric Robins, a trumpeter in the Shen Yun orchestra

Four Groups Tour 14 European Countries

Shen Yun’s success in Florence marks the prelude to the 2025 European grand performance season. On the last day of 2024, Shen Yun fans from the U.K., France, and Poland also welcomed the Shen Yun artists at their local airports. 

Polish fans dressed in traditional costumes to formally welcome Shen Yun artists as their distinguished guests. Audiences from various European countries expressed their enthusiasm for Shen Yun by buying tickets as soon as they were available.

Wearing formal ethnic costumes, fans welcomed Shen Yun artists when they arrived at the Warsaw Airport in Poland on December 31. (Epoch Times)

Shen Yun artists were greeted by fans when they arrived at London Airport in the U.K. on December 31.

Shen Yun arrived at Marseille in southern France on December 3 to start the new season’s tour. 

Shen Yun’s Popularity Increases

In France, people are increasingly fond of Shen Yun, and the scale of the performances is constantly increasing. Almost everyone in France knows about Shen Yun Performing Arts. 

Over the past two years, the total number of tickets for Shen Yun’s performances in France has grown at an annual rate of 50%. As early as last summer’s Paris Olympics, patrons had already started buying tickets in anticipation of Shen Yun’s arrival. In 2025, Shen Yun will share nearly 90 performances in 12 cities to about 225,000 audience members. 

Over the years, audiences say they have been impressed by the rich and brilliant traditional Chinese culture displayed by Shen Yun. Besides the creativity and choreography throughout the show, the performers’ superb skills and emotional expressions also deeply touched audience members’ hearts.

Before the opening of at least 88 performances in 12 French cities, half of the tickets were sold out by the end of December 2024, with nearly 160,000 tickets sold. This exceeded the 2024 performance season. In some cities where tickets are sold out, ticket selling for the 2026 season has also begun.

Shen Yun performed in France in 2024. Upper left: On the evening of February 25, 2023, Shen Yun the New York Troupe’s third performance at the Grand Theater in Aix-en-Provence was sold out. Upper right: On the afternoon of April 21, 2024, Shen Yun New Era Performing Arts gave its eighth performance at L’Amphithéâtre 3000 to a full house. Bottom left: On the afternoon of April 26, 2024, Shen Yun New Era Performing Arts gave its fifth performance to a full house at the Opéra Berlioz in Montpellier. Bottom right: On May 4, 2024, the Shen Yun New Era Troupe performed two sold-out performances at the International Convention Center in Paris.

A Story with a Happy Ending

On December 20, 2024, a young woman called the ticket purchase hotline. Her voice sounded a little sad and choked. She said that she wanted to buy three tickets for the January performance in Aix-en-Provence, a city in southern France. She found that there were no tickets available online, but she still wanted to ask the hotline volunteers to try because her grandfather would pass away soon, and his final wish was to see a Shen Yun performance.

The receptionist was Angélique, and she was very moved by the request. With tears in her eyes, she told the young woman that she would definitely help find a solution. About half an hour later, a customer called the hotline, and Angélique answered it. The customer said that he had three tickets for the Shen Yun performance in Aix-en-Provence, but he had to leave the city for some reason and needed to exchange them for the performance in Montpellier in March.

After helping the customer exchange his tickets, Angélique called the young woman and told her the good news. Both of them were in tears and felt this was help from the divine – the problem was solved in just half an hour. They were all happy that the grandfather’s wish was fulfilled.

In addition to word of mouth, Shen Yun advertisements can be seen everywhere in France. They are also widely spread among companies and groups.

In 2024, the French ticket sales team received more than 200 group ticket purchase orders. The average number of tickets purchased by each group was around 50, and the number of tickets purchased by many groups was in the hundreds. Tens of thousands of tickets were purchased last year. 

According to the local French coordinator, they expect to sell more group tickets in 2025, especially to bankers. As long as the cities where Shen Yun performs have banking institutions, they usually purchase group tickets for their employees.

A former dancer who currently owns and operates a high-end clothing store in the 7th arrondissement of Paris told the volunteers of the Shen Yun promotion team that it was her honor to put up Shen Yun posters in her store. She took the poster with both hands and told an employee to post it in the most conspicuous place in the store which faced the street. She praised Shen Yun and said, “This is really a high-level performance. No other art group can surpass it. It’s so beautiful.”

An owner of a high-end jewelry store told a promotion volunteer, “I’ve been thinking about it for two years. However, I will definitely see Shen Yun this year. Not only is the dance beautiful, but the colors are so attractive. I definitely will not miss it!”

For Shen Yun performance ticket information, please visit: www.shenyun.com