SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Senior Company Executives Marvel at ‘Pre-Communism’ Culture at Shen Yun

Apr 06, 2025

4/6/2025Updated: 4/6/2025

BOSTON—Two senior executives of a convenience store chain headquartered in Massachusetts enjoyed the traditional Chinese culture, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on April 5.

Tony El-Nemr and Joe Hamza, chief executive officer and chief operating officer, respectively, of the retailer, said they appreciated Shen Yun’s mission of showcasing China before communism took over the country, realizing that Chinese people were very religious in the past.

“That would be great if they can bring it back to pre-communism, because this is where the true culture comes [from],” El-Nemr said.

“Obviously, communism takes a bit from the culture, from the authentic culture of China. It’s really amazing to see the stories being told pre-communism,” Hamza said. “It’s very eye-opening.”

Shen Yun was founded in 2006 with the mission to revive authentic Chinese culture, which existed at a time when divinity and spiritual heritage were integral parts of people’s lives.

According to its website, Shen Yun has included several components into its performances to bring back traditional Chinese culture, including classical Chinese dance, China’s rich folk and ethnic traditions, stories and legends that embody virtues of the Chinese civilization, and spiritual principles that were once part of society and culture.

El-Nemr and Hamza said people should be entitled to their spiritual beliefs.

“Everybody has their own culture with their own beliefs and it should be free for anybody to cherish and trust and believe in their own God,” El-Nemr said.

“People should be able to worship whomever they choose without any government intervention. And China obviously has that. Other places too, not just China,” Hamza said. “But freedom of religion is very important. And this is why this country, the USA, is so great.”

El-Nemr also marveled at the skills of the dancers, saying that the storytelling of the dances was “unbelievable.”

“It’s the stories behind the dancers and it brings reality into it. So, it’s absolutely amazing,” El-Nemr said. “Every story has its unique background to it, and the preparation for it has been unbelievable.”

Shen Yun explains on its website that its story-based dances are like “mimi dramas,” recounting legends, bygone heroes, literary classics, and celestial paradises. It also says that the Chinese communist regime has made efforts to hide these stories, block their inclusion in school curricula, and distort them to “serve the needs of the ruling powers.”

“[The performers] have done [an] absolutely fantastic job. From the preparation to the presentation, it’s absolutely fantastic. Hats off to them,” El-Nemr said.

Reporting by Mary Man and Frank Fang.

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