SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘I’m a Changed Person,’ Says Audience Member After Watching Shen Yun

Dec 04, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS—Rick Scheller, who works as a manager in the IT field, says Shen Yun nourished his soul and gave him an opportunity to learn about an ancient culture, while at the same time giving him hope for the future.

“This gave me a chance to turn off my mind and turn on my heart and my soul and just feel and just be and just live,” Mr. Scheller said after seeing the performance at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Dec. 3.

“I was there every minute. I turned off my brain and let my heart call and just let it flow with the people. Sometimes [I] just re-focused my eyes so I saw everything and not just one individual person. I saw a whole production from end to end and the journeys of the characters. I’m a changed person.”

He elaborated on how New York-based Shen Yun brings out historic wisdom, as well as the hope of a bright future.

“Our everyday life is bombarded by common sense, by hard facts and things that are going on in the economy and our house payments and how much our salary is and our money and everything like that. But that’s all a temporal struggle,” he said.

“There’s a very distant past and there’s a very, very bright future, and I think seeing things like this allows you to feel that again.”

Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and culture—a culture that was almost lost when the Chinese communist regime came to power.

“I yearn for that kind of history,” Mr. Scheller said. “Coming from 200 measly years of history, and looking at thousands [of] years of struggle in history, it’s incredibly moving. It’s soulful and I hope I can hold this feeling for a long time.”

He also expressed his appreciation for the performers and artists behind Shen Yun, particularly the artistic director of the performing arts company.

“If I could talk to him, I would thank him so much for giving me a place where my heart can come out without my mind attached, and just feel,” he said.

As I get older—I feel older now—I feel like I'm finding that spot, that spot of where the heart and mind work together, and this was the best example I've ever seen

— Rick Scheller

“As I get older—I feel older now—I feel like I’m finding that spot, that spot of where the heart and mind work together, and this was the best example I’ve ever seen.”

During the performance, Mr. Scheller sat in the front row, right by the orchestra pit. At the end, he wanted to show his appreciation to the musicians.

“When the show was over and we were applauding the orchestra pit, I made eye contact with one of the violinists and took off my mask and said ’thank you,” he said. He said the violinist was appreciative and smiled.

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.