SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Audience: ‘Just the Music Alone Would Have Made It Worth It’

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Shen Yun Audience: ‘Just the Music Alone Would Have Made It Worth It’
Garrett DenBleyker at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Youkey Theatre, RP Funding Center on Feb. 14, 2024. NTD
LAKELAND, Fla.—With world-class dancers, a live orchestra, exquisite singers, and handcrafted costumes, some audience members say that Shen Yun Performing Arts is worth a lot more than its ticket.

“The music was great. I was telling my wife just the music alone would have made it worth it. An excellent orchestra,” said Garrett DenBleyker.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the world’s most athletically demanding dance systems.

“They do a really good job. You can see that they practice a lot. A lot of work goes into what they were doing,” said Mr. DenBleyker.

Mr. DenBleyker shared that he was struck by the beauty of Shen Yun’s dances.

“I like the colors. When the girls are dancing with their long sleeves, I think that was the most beautiful part. And when they had the flowers,” he shared.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949, it systematically began to destroy Chinese traditions and distort Chinese history.

“People don’t realize that China is hurting their own people. And they tried to destroy it. If you go back even when the Cultural Revolution first started, what did they do? They tried to destroy culture. And they’ve been very successful, unfortunately,” said Mr. DenBleyker.

Just before the turn of the century, the CCP began a crackdown on millions of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners in China. Shen Yun’s efforts to spread the truth about Falun Gong have made it unable to perform in China.

“I know how so much persecution is going on in China, and I can see why they’ve outlawed this show because it really brings out what’s going on there,” shared Mr. DenBleyker.

Maria Garces at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Youkey Theatre, RP Funding Center on Feb. 14, 2024. (NTD)
Maria Garces at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Youkey Theatre, RP Funding Center on Feb. 14, 2024. NTD
Also in the audience was Maria Garces, owner of a trucking company. She was pleased to see Shen Yun present what China and the Chinese people were like before communism.

“The performance was great. The performance is full of emotion. It’s full of folklore and culture of a big, big country through many years,” said Ms. Garces.

“So, it was a very unique experience for us to see the Chinese people, the way that they conduct themselves, the way they dance, the beautiful dances. So, we’re very happy to see the show.”

Shen Yun’s presentation of the divine resonated with Ms. Garces. In Shen Yun’s dance stories, kind actions are rewarded by higher powers, and the evildoers are punished.

“The show has a cultural impact and a religious impact. It’s very important for the people to know that God is good, and that’s the main reason for our existence, and he is our creator. It was a great, great message,” said Ms. Garces.

Shen Yun currently has eight companies touring the world simultaneously. Ms. Garces expressed her wish for Shen Yun to be seen by more people.

“It’s a great job. We hope that it continues in the whole world. Every time you can perform in different places, it is a good culture message,” she said.

Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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