SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Patron Explains Why Shen Yun ‘Really Resonates With Everybody’

Dec 27, 2024

ATLANTA—Alan Hendessi first saw Shen Yun Performing Arts when he took his mother to a performance in 2016, and since then, it has become a recurring opportunity to share something joyful.

“It’s one of her favorite things to do,” Mr. Hendessi said on Dec. 26 at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. “She just turned 90 years old, so every chance I get, I like to take her out and let her do things that she enjoys.”

“I look over, and she’s immersed, and she’s really enjoying every aspect of what’s going on; it’s very gratifying to me, so it’s something that I enjoy and hopefully will continue to enjoy for many years to come,” said Mr. Hendessi, a senior director for business development in high tech.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

At a Shen Yun performance, Mr. Hendessi sees audience members from all walks of life enjoying the performance regardless of cultural differences.

“It’s a study in the Chinese culture, which is just beautiful and very old, very traditional, but the themes that are discussed are universal, and that apply to any culture,” he said. “It’s about decency and kindness and those things, and I think it’s just wonderful. That’s why there’s a lot of different types of people that show up and really enjoy it.”

Mr. Hendessi said he thought it was the spirituality of the culture that really made it universal, and that even people who don’t consider themselves spiritual are likely to grasp the message and think deeply about it.

“The spirituality is very powerful; it’s something that really resonates with everybody,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s all about the goodness of the people, it’s about kindness and spirituality.”

Traditional Chinese culture is indeed a spiritual one; the ancient Chinese believed their culture deeply inspired, and principles and morals from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism guided society for millennia.

“I think the way the message is communicated is very powerful, because it’s done with music and choreography and dancing and it’s just powerfully communicated and really resonates,” Mr. Hendessi said.

For Mr. Hendessi, the message of spirituality touched on wisdom, and looking within oneself.

“I think all the different cultures of the world, in this information age, where there’s an overabundance of information, people are looking for wisdom.

Not necessarily information, but wisdom,“ he said. ”I think that comes from within, and it comes from a person being able to be spiritual in their own self.”

It’s what governs how we think and how we treat people, and in turn shapes the world around us, he explained.

“I think that’s a very very strong message and very very, to me, appropriate based on the times we live in, probably more so now than in 2016 when I first came to this show. It’s even more relevant today than it was back then,” he said.

“Being able to share this experience with my mother, who’s just turned 90 years old, it’s a privilege, it’s an honor, it’s something I’m very grateful for.”

Reporting by Frank Xie 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.