SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

More Than Entertainment: Business Owners Deeply Moved by Shen Yun

Feb 16, 2025

HOUSTON—Dean and Susan Casias, business owners, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time on Feb. 15 at the CFISD Visual and Performing Arts Center and were deeply moved by the story they witnessed play out on stage.

“Oh, I loved it. It was beautiful and magnificent. I almost cried through it. It was beautiful,” said Mrs. Casias.

“It was beautiful, music was great, and the dancing was awesome,” said Mr. Casias. “The stories, the dancing, the music, everything. Yes, we’re definitely going to see it again.”

For 5,000 years, Chinese culture was divinely inspired, and its civilization was a spiritual one. Through music and dance, New York-based Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.

This connection to the divine was present throughout the performance, and what made the experience so profound for Mrs. Casias.

“That’s why I was so moved, I can feel the spirituality,” she said. “I felt the divinity, I was intrigued by the sense that we were divine before we came to earth, and I thought that was really neat that we'd end up back there.”

Mrs. Casias said she felt she could relate to this ancient culture because she shared the belief in heaven. During the performance, the Casiases learned Shen Yun could not perform in China, where the Chinese communist regime has tried to wipe out traditional culture during its 75-year rule.

“It seems like the Communist Party is trying to repress this faith and culture of the Chinese people, which I think is a terrible tragedy and I would hate to see it disappear,” she said. “So, I’m glad that Shen Yun is putting that message out there.”

Mr. Casias also felt stories in which Shen Yun touched on the real events in modern day China were important. He was moved by the characters who had courage and faith despite oppression.

“I thought that was pretty powerful,” he said. “It touches you more than just on an entertainment level.”

Reporting by Sonia Wu and Catherine Yang.

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