Shen Yun Art Troupe, headquartered in New York, has recently sparked a Shen Yun craze in Europe, with sold-out performances in top theaters across the continent. Leading up to the 2025 season, tickets for Shen Yun have already been sold out in several cities months in advance.
During the previous Shen Yun season, Leipzig, Germany welcomed Shen Yun for the first time, and tickets for the four performances were sold out over three months in advance.
The organizers of Shen Yun in France announced that tickets for the first performance were sold out by the end of November. Approximately 2,000 tickets are being sold daily at a rapid pace. As of December 5th, all 115,000 seats for Shen Yun performances in France have been sold out.
Shen Yun is a premier classical Chinese dance and arts troupe in the world, and this season, they plan to perform in 13 cities in France. Some performances in Aix-en-Provence, Toulouse, Nantes, and Lyon have already sold out, prompting additional shows to be added in certain cities.
Since its founding in 2006, Shen Yun has rapidly grown, with eight performance troupes touring simultaneously around the world.
During the previous season, Shen Yun performed over 800 shows in more than 200 cities across five continents, with nearly a third of the shows taking place in Europe.
Last year, Shen Yun staged 72 performances in France, a significant increase from the 50 shows the year before.
Former CEO of Cofitex, Claude-Louis Collomb, watched Shen Yun in Lyon, France last year and remarked that experiencing the performance required not only seeing with the eyes but feeling with the heart.
He said, “If you watch with the heart instead of the eyes, you will sense the spiritual essence of the performance. As Saint-Exupéry said, ‘One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.'”
Retired hospital director Marina Collomb described the performance as absolutely magical.
She stated, “It was my first time watching such a show, truly beautiful and magical, uplifting the soul with something sacred and pure.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the 5,000-year-old traditional Chinese culture, and Collomb was moved by the dedication of Shen Yun artists from around the world in preserving traditions that are currently impossible in China.
She expressed, “These individuals have the courage to uphold the traditions of their ancestors, which deserves admiration. It’s something every country should do. When you can’t express these values in your own country and have to go abroad to do so, it’s truly sad!”
She added that watching Shen Yun brought her joy that “opened her heart.”
Lawyer Marie-Christine Bonnin, who attended a Shen Yun performance at the Amphitheatre 3000 in Lyon in the previous season, also praised the show.
She said, “The performance was truly spectacular! I felt like I grew three centimeters and my soul was elevated. I had a wonderful time! I believe if all laboratories gathered here to explore the infinite beauty of Shen Yun and create vaccines for all the ugliness in the world, that would be amazing!”
In Tours, France, retired army colonel Alain Noury stated that the spirit of Shen Yun artists inspired him, making attending Shen Yun performances a tradition for him.
He remarked, “(Shen Yun) dancers are working with their souls, dancing with their spirits, not just with their bodies. There’s something on stage transcending themselves. They are there for others’ enjoyment and well-being. Outwardly, they are professionals, but deep down, they have a simple soul made of happiness and spirit.”
“This is a beautiful and magnificent performance that transports you to another realm, captivating you. We want to understand these people. We’ve seen truly beautiful things, so we want to know them better. We want to come back again,” Noury said.