SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Atlanta Audience Shares Why Shen Yun Is so Inspiring

Dec 28, 2024

ATLANTA—Shen Yun Performing Arts finished a successful five-show run at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on Dec. 27, uplifting and inspiring countless audience members who shared their joy and gratitude after the performances.

“I’ve seen it multiple times,” said philanthropist Philip Carroll, who saw Shen Yun’s first performance in North America with his wife Pualani on Dec. 23. “It’s become a holiday tradition, and it’s inspiring.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, which brings a performance showcasing 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to nearly 1 million people each year.

Pualani Carroll said the story-based dances—which told of love and loss, faith and redemption—almost moved her to the point of tears. “The performance is beautiful,” she said.

The performance moved audience members, returning and new alike, with tech executive Jon Duke surprised he and his wife Tammy hadn’t made the trip earlier.

“I can’t believe we’ve never seen it before,” said Duke, who saw the Dec. 27 performance.

“It all … provided such a history of the Chinese culture going back thousands of years that it was very enlightening,” he said.

Overlaying the tales spanning five millennia was a spiritual overtone “that provided a little something deeper to all the stories,” he added.

Why People Love Shen Yun

Alan Hendessi, who first saw Shen Yun eight years ago with his mother, said that spiritual overtone was what made Shen Yun profound and more than entertainment.

“It’s a study in the Chinese culture, which is just beautiful and very old, very traditional, but the themes that are discussed are universal,” he said.

“It’s about decency and kindness ... and I think it’s just wonderful. That’s why there’s a lot of different types of people that show up and really enjoy it.”

Hendessi added that his mother is now 90 years old, and he takes her to things she enjoys as much as possible.

“I look over, and she’s immersed, and she’s really enjoying every aspect of what’s going on; it’s very gratifying to me,” he said.

Eight years ago, retired sales executive Valerie Bean learned about Shen Yun and wanted to see it, but life got busy, and then the pandemic.

But this year, her children got together to surprise her with tickets for Christmas.

“It was the best Christmas gift ever,” she said.

It often happens that we can build something up in our minds and feel disappointed when witnessing the real thing, she said, but Shen Yun was the opposite.

“This was more, more than we expected. It was inspiring, it was emotional, it was beautiful and it just makes you want to go and be a better person,” she said.

“It was the most amazing thing, and I couldn’t recommend it more. Everyone should see this once in their lifetime, at least. And you know what? I’m going to see it more than once because it was just beautiful. Beautiful.”

‘We Can Change the World’

The traditional Chinese culture Shen Yun seeks to present is said to be divinely inspired. The ancient Chinese believed their culture was a gift from the divine.

Unfortunately, Shen Yun cannot be seen in China today, the emcees often tell the audience. Unbeknownst to some audience members, the Chinese communist regime has sought to destroy traditional culture through bloody campaigns like the Cultural Revolution over its 75-year rule, and Shen Yun has been blacklisted by the regime.

In 2006, artists fleeing religious persecution founded Shen Yun in New York, naming the company to what translates to “the beauty of divine beings dancing.”

Restauranteur Roberto Correa, founder and CEO of Beto’s Tacos, was deeply moved by Shen Yun’s mission to revive authentic Chinese culture.

“I’m really in shock … it’s about humans and about how we can change the world. We need that,” he said.

“Tell the world,” he said in encouragement. He said he saw for himself the difference between communism and freedom in one of the story-based dances Shen Yun performed, and gained a better understanding of authentic Chinese culture.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “Really touched my heart.”

“This is to make a difference. Whoever the director is, this is a great thing. We need to know to make the world change,” Correra said.

Shen Yun will return to Georgia on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center in Augusta, and again on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 at the Johnny Mercer Theatre at Savannah Civic Center in Savannah.

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