SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Retired Colonel Recognizes the Discipline and Hard Work Behind Shen Yun

Jan 13, 2025

BATON ROUGE, La.—Having retired from the U.S. Air Force, Colonel (Ret.) Rick Smith knows a thing or two about discipline and hard work, which is also what he knows to be true about Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“It’s one of a kind. Never seen so many people with so much flexibility and [so] light on their feet. Unbelievably light. I’ve seen ballets before, but I’ve never seen this kind of stretch that these guys have and these women have. It’s just unbelievable,” said Mr. Smith.

Shen Yun’s dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world, and although Mr. Smith is not a dancer, he understands the discipline it takes to become excellent at a skill.

“I’m a former pilot, so that required certain training over and over again. And these people have obviously trained over and over again. Besides their shows, they have to be at home training, stretching, working out, and then displaying it. And it takes many, many years to do that,” he said.

Mr. Smith’s friend, Bernadette Vige, a retired administrative assistant, was also very impressed with Shen Yun.

“I would highly recommend it to anyone,” she said.

Nathan Nash and Angie Nash at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Baton Rouge River Center Theatre on Jan. 12, 2025. (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times) — Nathan Nash and Angie Nash at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Baton Rouge River Center Theatre on Jan. 12, 2025. Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times

Nathan Nash and his wife, Angie Nash, were also at the afternoon performance.

“We were stunned by how beautiful all of the costumes were. And the quality of the dance, just amazing. We were stunned at how beautiful it was. So, we’re very happy we came,” said Mr. Nash, the vice president of an oil company.

Shen Yun’s costumes are all handmade and customized to fit each dancer. The costumes are one element that makes Shen Yun’s storytelling so convincing.

“It’s touching, and the stories are told so well. ... From start to finish, there was no moment that we didn’t feel like we were experiencing something new and astounding,” he said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, China before communism.

“[Shen Yun] inspired me to know more about Chinese culture. And it also inspired me to want to know more about what the struggles are for the folks that are religious in China and see what we may be able to do to support that,” said Mr. Nash, who understands as an American, the freedom of religion.

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Maria Han.

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