GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Lee Niblock, Alachua County manager, appreciated Shen Yun for coming to Gainesville, which he described as the cultural mecca of central Florida. He felt Shen Yun provided a rare and valuable experience at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 25, 2017.

“I’ve never experienced this before,” Mr. Niblock said. 

Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, has the mission of reviving China’s 5,000 years of history and culture through music and dance. Performances weave “a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales,” the Shen Yun website states.

Mr. Niblock said Shen Yun was more than entertainment—it was a cultural experience. “It’s total immersion. It’s almost like learning a culture instantaneously,” he said. 

“They’re telling a story in the art form [classical Chinese dance], so it’s very expressive, and it’s culturally enlightening,” Mr. Niblock said. “It’s storytelling like I’ve never experienced before.” 

Classical Chinese dance is known for its “incredible flips and spins and its gentle elegance.” “It is one of the most rigorous and expressive art forms in the world,” according to Shen Yun.

Mr. Niblock appreciated the quality of the dancers: “It’s the extreme precision of all of the dancers and the expressiveness of the motions. I think everything has purpose, everything they do … the hand motion, the quick footwork.”

“It’s a show not to be missed,” Mr. Niblock said. “It’s an experience not to be missed.”

Reporting by Sally Sun and Leigh Smith

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has five touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.