SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Brings Inspiration and Strength, Says El Paso Theatergoer

Feb 17, 2025

EL PASO, Texas—On Feb. 16, Shen Yun Performing Arts held the last of two shows in El Paso, Texas, and received a standing ovation. Among the audience at The Plaza Theatre were Chris Treadwell, a professional photographer, and Robert Treadwell, a federal contractor. The couple shared their thoughts on Shen Yun’s performance.

“I’ve been to shows before, but I think this one particularly I’m fond of just because of the color, the athleticism, the dancing, the choreography,” Mrs. Treadwell said. “It’s the composition of the whole scene, and every time I was looking at each one everybody was in sync, everybody’s in unison.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception in 2006, Shen Yun’s mission has been to revive traditional Chinese culture and show the beauty of “China before communism.”

“Details are very important to me, and everyone that I looked at was doing the same thing, performing the same way,” Mrs. Treadwell said. “There was no one out of sync and that’s really important to me when I see a show like this, that when you have so many on the stage that everyone looks the same and everyone’s doing the same thing. The arms are the same, the face is the same, the height of the dancers are the same, and I love that because of my detailed orientation. I loved the choreography very, very much. The colors ... were the most vibrant that I’ve ever seen in a show before.”

Mrs. Treadwell felt that Shen Yun’s performance was inspirational, and that seeing it was a good way to start her week.

“When you come to things like this you feel encouraged [and] inspired,” she said. “There’s a lot of ugly in the world right now, and just to come here and see this and feel good about something like this—it’s inspirational.”

Mr. Treadwell said that “in a world with chaos and hatred, it was nice to take two and a half hours out” to see the performance, adding that it was a way to be “refreshed [and feel] a total spiritual connection with what was presented.”

Shen Yun depicts the spiritual elements of traditional Chinese culture, which is rooted in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Mr. Treadwell said that the spiritual portrayals were a reminder that “there’s a higher being out there for us to remember.”

Through Shen Yun’s performance, Mrs. Treadwell experienced emotions such as “joy, peace, tranquility, [and] strength.”

“Just seeing them is such a strength to me,” she said.

“I look forward to next year when [Shen Yun] comes back to El Paso,” Mr. Treadwell said.

Reporting by Sherry Dong 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.