SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is Keeping Chinese Culture Alive, Says Life Coach Guru Tony Robbins

May 03, 2023

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Well-known author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Tony Robbins watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts’ Dreyfoos Hall on May 2.

“I think it’s magnificent,” said Mr. Robbins. “It’s magnificent to see another part of Chinese culture that a lot of people don’t get to see.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now with eight equally sized companies touring the world simultaneously, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and to give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Mr. Robbins said it was fascinating to learn through the performance that many tumbling techniques used in gymnastics come from classical Chinese dance.

“It’s been very enlightening, and it’s beautiful,” he added. “I highly recommend it to anyone.”

‘Absolutely Beautiful’

Shen Yun’s music is performed by a live orchestra that combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments. Mr. Robbins said that “the music is gorgeous. It’s very moving, and quite dramatic, and quite powerful.”

According to Shen Yun’s website, traditional Chinese culture was destroyed when the Chinese Communist Party took power. Mr. Robbins said that although “it’s sad to see when culture in any part of the world gets squashed,” Shen Yun’s mission to revive Chinese culture “is beautiful because it’s keeping it alive, and it’s sharing it with the world.”

“Everything changes with time, as we all know. So I think by keeping things alive and seeing the beauty of this, I think it makes sure that the culture continues. I think that’s absolutely beautiful.”

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depicts the Chinese regime’s persecution of followers of faith. Mr. Robbins said that Shen Yun was making an impact on the world by “educating people about what’s really happening so people know the truth.”

“The truth will set you free, as has been said many times.”

Tony Robbins sits down for an interview at The Empire State Building in New York City on Oct. 5, 2015. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images) — Tony Robbins sits down for an interview at The Empire State Building in New York City on Oct. 5, 2015. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Mr. Robbins, an Epoch Times subscriber, also praised the publication in his comments. “Knowing the truth and having something like Epoch Times that brings it forth to people I think is fantastic, and I subscribe.”

He also said that he believed that Shen Yun offers a new perspective that can relieve people of the depression resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When people are holed up at home, and they don’t know what the future is like, it’s nice to have a perspective of 5,000 years of dance and music to change your perspective and give you a different frame of reference,” said Mr. Robbins.

“I think it [Shen Yun] is beautiful for anyone who wants to have a change of experience, a change of state. I think we all deserve to be exposed to many cultures, many parts of cultures in different times in history.”

Reporting by NTD and Wandi Zhu.

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