SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Everybody Should See Shen Yun, Says Fresno Theatergoer

Feb 05, 2025

FRESNO, Calif.—Jolene Polyack, a marketer, with her husband Robert, a retired engineer, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the William Saroyan Theatre Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center after seeing the ads for the performance on social media.

“It just drew me to want to see it,” Mr. Polyack said.

Mrs. Polyack said Shen Yun was very lovely and also educational, giving her a better understanding of Chinese culture’s past and present.

“I think that everybody should see it. It’s just so fun and lively and extremely unique,” she said, “We would highly recommend it.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture. Some of the performance pieces feature stories from ancient Chinese history or mythology, others from contemporary China, while still others feature dance styles and costumes from China’s different dynasties, regions, and ethnic groups.

Mr. Polyack said he really liked the storytelling, along with the costumes and the integration of Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop technology into the performance.

“I love the colors, I love the dancing, I love the music, I like looking at the orchestra. Sitting in the front row is awesome!” he said. “The stories are fun, the humor is cool in there to see, and without the words being spoken, it’s pretty cool to still get the emotion, the feel, and the sense of what they’re trying to convey.”

Shen Yun dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

Mr. Polyack mentioned that in the past, he played the trumpet and drums, making Shen Yun’s orchestra—with it’s blend of Eastern and Western instruments—a highlight for him, especially the string section.

Some of Shen Yun’s story-based dances are based in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

“I feel sad about the current persecution. I think that’s very sad but it’s also beautiful to experience what it was before as well,” Mrs. Polyack said.

As a Christian, Mr. Polyack was intrigued by the heavenly feeling he got from Shen Yun and said that he’s looking forward to learning more about the spiritual concepts that were depicted in the performance.

Unfortunately, Shen Yun cannot be seen in China today, and after decades of communist rule, much of China’s divinely inspired culture has been lost, inspiring Shen Yun to share with the world “China before communism.”

“It’s great entertainment,” Mr. Polyack said. “I’m super happy that we came.”

Reporting by Lily Yu and Keegan Billings.

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