SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Brought Us to God and Help Us Feel Peace and Joy,’ Says Business Owner

Jan 15, 2025

FOLSOM, Calif.—Coming from an artistic family, business owner Jason Steele is no stranger to the world of art and performance.

However, he never experienced classical Chinese dance until he attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening show at the Harris Center on Jan. 14. Mr. Steele was absolutely captivated.

“It was beautiful. Very uplifting. It touched my heart how professional and perfect [the show was.] So much love came out—of hope and unity. [Shen Yun] brought us to God and helped us feel peace and joy. In one word, I’d say it’s beautiful. Perfect,” he said.

“I familiar with ballet, my sister was a [ballerina.] I love to see how [the Shen Yun dancers] articulate all the expressions and emotions with their bodies, with their hands and gestures.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun artists are masters of classical Chinese dance, an ancient and highly expressive art form dating back thousands of years.

Unlike the modern, military-influenced styles often seen in China today, Shen Yun preserves and performs this tradition in its most authentic form, which was refined and passed down through generations.

“Every movement—even with just the fingers, the hands, the wrists—everything done in such a way of love to convey the message. You feel the message and beauty in what you see and in what you hear. All the orchestra—everyone played so well,” Mr. Steele added.

Shen Yun performers are on a mission to revive, through dance and music, China’s divinely inspired civilization and traditional values to its pre-communist glory.

“Shen Yun teaches peace, it teaches wisdom—I saw a lot of life lessons that the young people can benefit from if they understand it better and watch [the performance] more. It’s done in a beautiful way.”

Mr. Steele was particularly moved by Shen Yun’s portrayal of the divine, depicting the Creator descending to Earth to help humans.

“I almost need to watch it a couple more times to grasp and to understand more. What I did understand is: It’s a spiritual experience, you have to let go of the world and take in the message. It’s like a universal peace message,” he reflected.

“I think the Creator wants to have peace and teaches people that. He comes and sends different messages at different places, different times, different cultures. The Creator loves his creations, and he wants to give [people] hope and peace and help them find ways to live together so they can be happy, not just here, but in the future in heaven. So, I love that Shen Yun was teaching me about God and the Creator.”

Mr. Steele said he wanted to thank all the performers for their hard work.

“It touched my heart how hard the dancers have to train every day. They’re looking beautiful and doing everything so precisely and so beautifully. I could see the muscles are so strong, it’s such hard work and dedication and I love all the people that support them. Thank you for helping them,” he said.

“I wanted to come to Shen Yun in 2018, but I couldn’t afford it, then COVID happened and [everything] was shut down. I’m so happy to be here today. So glad to be together in my home community next to everybody, getting a wonderful message. Very wonderful presentation.”

Reporting by Gary Wang and Jennifer Tseng.

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