SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

CFO Accountant Resonates With the ‘Spirituality of the Chinese People’

Mar 10, 2025

STAMFORD, Conn.—The artistry and history presented by Shen Yun Performing Arts intrigued many in the audience at the Palace Theatre on March 9.

John Smith, a CFO and certified public accountant, said, “It’s a beautiful show” connected with China’s deep history and spiritual traditions.

So many aspects of Shen Yun impressed him: “How well it’s done: the orchestra, the entertainers; everyone is just doing a fabulous job.”

He said the performance gave him an “understanding of Chinese culture and the history of it. I didn’t know anything about it but it’s a phenomenal experience.”

Before each dance segment, hosts on stage explain the story of the upcoming dance.

“What’s very interesting about it is when the two [hosts] come out before each performance and give an explanation of what’s going on, that gives more depth to understanding what the music is about, the art, the artists, and what they’re doing. It also gives more of a history of China.

“China is over 5,000 years old. It’s an ancient tradition, it’s a civilization. It’s rich in culture and, you see, it’s a phenomenal thing,” Mr. Smith said.

Shen Yun performs throughout the world to share 5,000 years of “China before communism.” China’s beautiful traditions were almost destroyed by the communist regime.

Mr. Smith said he visited China about 15 years ago for business. “And you can see there that the country had a rich culture, and the people were phenomenal. But you'd also see the suppression [from] the communism. And here, this shows more that China has a rich culture. It’s phenomenal,” he said.

The communist regime continues to persecute people with spiritual beliefs and others who don’t agree with the regime’s policies. Shen Yun raises awareness of this issue around the world.

Mr. Smith said he was familiar with what happened at Tiananmen Square: “I know about things like that.”

“You see on the TV that they have advertisements about how they want to suppress the show. And then when you see it, it’s ridiculous, you know. Why suppress this? This has to do with culture, this has to do with spirituality, this has to do with art. This shows what greatness China is capable of under a free economy, a free system,” he said.

Mr. Smith resonated with Shen Yun’s message of China’s “deep history and spirituality of the Chinese people.”

He said this was a new awareness for him. “I didn’t know anything about it, so this is just a great experience for me.”

“The dancers are phenomenal. The musicians, you can see down there, they’re doing a great job. It’s just really a great experience,” he said.

Reporting by Frank Liang and Yvonne Marcotte.

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