SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Left Tennessee Theatergoer ‘Very Inspired and Very Encouraged’

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Shen Yun Left Tennessee Theatergoer ‘Very Inspired and Very Encouraged’
Deanna and Gary Ellison at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the McAllen Performing Arts Center on Feb. 4, 2024. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times

McALLEN, Tenn.—Pastor Gary Ellison, who trained missionaries in several countries, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife, Deanna, on Feb. 4, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center.

After the matinee, Mr. Ellison said enthusiastically that they felt “very, very inspired and very encouraged.”

“We really appreciate the [show’s] focus on the importance of faith and integrity and showing kindness,” he expressed.

“There were so many positive messages sent that really encouraged us. We appreciate all their hard work and diligence.”

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party. In the decades since the regime’s takeover in 1949, traditional Chinese culture faced near-complete destruction.
Now, in America, Shen Yun artists have made it their goal to revive this lost culture and bring the beauty of pre-communist China back to the world through a series of dance pieces and solo performances.
Mrs. Ellison thought the show was not only beautiful but “really gives you a better perspective of Chinese culture and the people and the history.”

“I really learned a lot,” she said, adding that it’s hard for her to pick a favorite because “each [program] complimented the other.”

“It gave you a view of the kings, the kingdoms, the rules but also the powers of darkness, the countryside, and the rich and the poor. It’s an overall view of the whole country.”

She also really appreciated Shen Yun’s bilingual hosts, who introduced each story so that audience members not familiar with Chinese culture could still follow along and understand what was happening.
In the years since its establishment, Shen Yun has grown to become the world’s top classical Chinese dance and music company.

Currently, its eight equally-sized companies are touring simultaneously around the world. The artists will perform in 200 cities across five continents in 2024.

The message Mr. Ellison will be bringing home with him from the show is “the importance of faith as well as a mutual respect and understanding of other cultures and the people and their beliefs.”

“Atheism and evolution are what really drown out that faith and message of hope. [Shen Yun] was inspiring. We’re leaving encouraged,” he expressed.

“It’s also sad in a sense. I leave kind of sad thinking about what has been lost since 1949. Yet, we’re so thankful that we could be here today.”

Reporting by Sonia Wu and Jennifer Tseng. 
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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