New Technology Creates Fantasy Worlds on Stage
Shen Yun immerses Front Range audiences in March and April with an all-new show for 2025.
From the vast cosmos to the grandeur of imperial China, from the dark confines of a modern wasteland to the shimmering depths of an underwater palace—how does one production seamlessly transition between seventeen unique environments, constantly captivating an audience that thinks they’ve seen it all? Shen Yun has mastered the art.
When the curtain goes up at a Shen Yun performance, three key elements combine to awaken the audience’s spirit. First is the music, stirring people from the inside out. Next, dancers spring up from a layer of clouds on the stage, their movements full of life, and costumes so brilliant and colorful that everyone’s eyes widen to drink in even more. But the final element to create context for historical dramas and fantastical lore is the famous Shen Yun backdrop.
From the ancient Tang capital of Chang’an to the shores of the South China Sea, from the highest heavens to the dens of thieves, the Shen Yun backdrop doesn’t just set the scene for a dance performance; it creates immersive worlds that bring the performers and the audience together in realms of fantasy and significance.
Each Shen Yun show consists of over a dozen individual performances, each with its own theme and story. At climactic moments, the dancers transition seamlessly from on-stage to on-screen, flying through 3D environments and then reappearing to the thrill of the audience. The effect is so unique that Shen Yun patented it, ensuring you truly won’t see anything like it anywhere else.
Whether it’s dragons swimming the ocean’s depths, ancient palaces, or the settings of classic stories, the stunning backdrops are far from static decorations. They genuinely come to life as dancers descend from the screen to the stage, giving a performance audiences will never forget.
A poet from the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi (192–232 CE), captured the transcendent beauty of heavenly beings in one of his most famous poems:
“Song of the Immortals”
Heavenly maidens descend with grace,
Their robes like clouds, their steps an embrace.
Golden lotuses bloom where they tread,
A fragrance divine, a vision widespread.
With phoenix wings, they soar on high,
Their music soft as whispers of the sky.
Stars bow down, the moon hides its face,
In awe of their beauty, their celestial grace.
They vanish as mist at the break of dawn,
Leaving dreams of paradise once drawn.
In mortal hearts, their splendor stays,
A glimpse of heaven in earthly days.
Cao Zhi would be tickled to attend a Shen Yun show. A space-time vortex where anyone and everyone can come and travel the scenes depicted in his poetry.
A Shen Yun show typically features seventeen to eighteen vignettes, woven together to form a larger narrative arc. Legends from far-off cosmos blend seamlessly into ancient tales, which connect to modern-day stories destined to become legends for future generations. It’s a daring performance—banned in China. Even without words, Shen Yun incorporates dramatic depictions of present-day oppression under the Communist Party, which has angered the regime to the point of actively attempting to interfere with Shen Yun’s access to venues and marketing in free countries. In fact, this year, the CCP vowed to eradicate the troupe entirely.
But the show must go on—and it will. Shen Yun was founded in New York by dissident artists who faced persecution in their homeland. For the first time, they were free to tell the stories they wanted to tell, without censorship. It was like walking around with a ball and chain for decades then getting the chance to run—and they haven’t stopped. Shen Yun is determined to use cutting-edge technology alongside innovations in dance and music to ignite a global Chinese Renaissance —whether the communists want them too or not.
And that is exactly what they’re doing. Come see for yourself.
Cheyenne Civic Center, March 25-26
Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, March 28-30
The Buell Theatre in Denver, April 2-6
Showtimes and tickets available at: shenyun.com/co
