SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Oklahoma City Theatergoers Express Appreciation for Shen Yun

Apr 20, 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY—Jennifer Kelley, an accountant, and Joel Kelley, a graphic designer, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater on April 20.

“It was amazing, it was wonderful,” said Mrs. Kelley. “It was a surprise. The colors, the dancing—super impressive.”

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company since its inception in 2006. Its performers come from all around the world, united in their mission to revive traditional Chinese culture and the beauty and goodness of China before communism.

Shen Yun currently has eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, delighting audiences in over 200 cities across more than 20 countries and spanning five continents.

Mrs. Kelley said that the handmade costumes were breathtaking and that she loved the integration of Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, which allows performers to interact seamlessly between the stage and the background.

“I love how it tied in with the story,” said Mrs. Kelley. “[It was] very well done.”

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith.

“The thing that most stood out to me would have been the persecution versus people standing strong in their belief, even when they were persecuted,” said Mrs. Kelley.

Mr. Kelley said that he was at first not aware of the mission behind Shen Yun, but once he learned about it, he was able to “appreciate the cause that it represents and the fact that they can go and represent this art form, this story, and this heritage to the free world, but it’s so sad that they cannot in China.”

“The beauty and heritage represented here was to me, truly amazing,” said Mr. Kelley. “I really appreciated the music. With the color palette of the costumes ... I’m completely intrigued by the athleticism of those performers. Absolutely amazing.”

As a graphic designer, Mr. Kelley said he was “very intrigued [by] everything from the programs to the backdrops to the interaction of the participants of the performers with that screen in the background.”

Mr. Kelley also praised the performers and their ability to present traditional Chinese culture through dance.

“I thought the way that the thousands of years of history of Chinese dance influenced them, and they represented that well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. The way they were able to make the most of their athleticism and then the costumes that they were wearing—very visually fascinating to me.”

Reporting by Sonia Wu and Wandi Zhu.

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