SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘It’s Good Timing for This World’ to Know Shen Yun, Says Artist

Jan 04, 2023

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Dance and music are forms of art that flow with time. Shen Yun Performing Arts is touring around the world, each performance is a new and fresh experience for the audience.

Laurie Depaolo used to be a dancer and her husband, Joe Depaolo, is a professional percussionist.

“I love the show! It was probably some of the best dancing I’ve ever seen,” said Mrs. Depaolo. “I just loved it. I loved the themes, the stories that were told, I love the costumes and just the presence of the dancers. The amazing skill.”

Using classical Chinese dance, New York-based Shen Yun’s artists are able to portray a variety of characters including divine beings in the heavens and brave warriors in Chinese history.

“It’s just a reminder of where we’ve all come from. These are hard things to put into words. I love the word Creator. Somebody created us. We are created and we belong to someone,” said Mrs. Depaolo.

Each of Shen Yun’s eight companies has its own live orchestra. The ensemble features a western orchestra as the base while highlighting traditional Chinese instruments like the erhu and pipa as well as various Chinese percussion instruments.

“From the classical Chinese instruments to the percussion, to every instrument, [they] complemented the next. It was just really sublime,” said Mr. Depaolo.

The Depaolos noticed the thoughtful attention to detail was shown in how each dance was put together and how the music fits each dance.

“They’re all amazing. Just want to thank them all for all the time that they put into this training. I know that training is not easy. And we just thank them all for bringing to this to this beautiful building of their art, the time that they spent learning it,” said Mr. Depaolo.

One instrument that is put under the spotlight is the two-stringed erhu. According to the Shen Yun website, the erhu has a history of over 4,000 years, and it is one of the most important instruments in China.

“The Chinese instrument—that is my favorite instrument now in the world. I didn’t know that until tonight. The sounds that it creates—it brings in emotion and tears to the eyes,” said Mr. Depaolo.

He added that in the music, he felt a healing power that was “just so gentle and at the same time so intense.”

Since Shen Yun began in 2006, audience members have shared the beauty of Shen Yun with their friends and family.

It's good timing for this world. It's a good time for this country, for China and for all mankind just to listen to the storyline and just to see the dedication and hear it in the music.

— Laurie Depaolo

“People should let their friends know and I plan to do that. Shine the bright light on this just amazing performance. So I think it’s a good timing. It’s good timing for this world. It’s a good time for this country, for China and for all mankind just to listen to the storyline and just to see the dedication and hear it in the music,” said Mr. Depaolo.

Reporting by Dongyu Teng 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.