SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Delivers Powerful Storytelling, Says Company Director

Feb 02, 2025

ATLANTA—Mark Smith, a managing director at Accenture, and his wife Catherine, a fitness instructor, had seen Shen Yun Performing Arts many years ago and on Feb. 1, the couple decided to attend another performance at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. It was as good as they remembered it.

“I just love the dancing. I just loved how acrobatic the performers were… The colors were beautiful. The music was beautiful. I just really loved the whole thing,” Mr. Smith exclaimed.

He especially loved Shen Yun’s story-based dance recounting legends from ancient times to the modern day.

“It was just great storytelling, I thought. I really like how good triumphs over evil,” he said. “It’s hard to take it all in. That’s why I brought my program so I could go back and find it and go through it. I do love the storytelling [and] the reminder that not everyone and not everywhere has the freedom to be who they are meant to be. Very good, very good. It’s very sobering.”

Endowed with 5,000 years of history, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine.” For millenniums, its people believed that by keeping their hearts pure and adhering to strict moral standards, they will be blessed by the divine.

Indeed, for 5,000 years, the country prospered. However, after the communist takeover and its spread of atheism, all this traditional culture was systematically destroyed.

Based in New York, Shen Yun artists are determined to raise awareness for the human rights issues still ongoing in China and to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s divine-inspired culture.

Mrs. Smith, on the other hand, was mesmerized by the vibrant colors of Shen Yun’s costumes.

“It goes perfectly with the movement. The music is so wonderful. The choreography is excellent. And the caliber of dancers is just amazing,” she said. “The golden peacock—that was just stunning. Visually encompassing as well as the dancing.”

The couple also loved Shen Yun’s animated 3D backdrop and how it collaborated with the dancers on stage.

“The backdrop was amazing. It’s a great way to bring heaven and earth into the story, and we can follow along,” Mr. Smith said. “I think it would be much more difficult to really follow the story without the use of technology, so I thought that part was very well done.”

According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s innovative digital technology creates seamless interaction between the backdrop projection and the performers on stage. “By extending the stage to infinite realms,” this patented 3D invention brings to the audience “storytelling without limits.”

Throughout the whole performance, Mr. Smith was “immersed in the culture.”

“I thought it was beautiful, so for me, it was a very beautiful evening. That’s what I took from it,” he said.

Mrs. Smith chimed in that while she would need a bit more time to reflect and think back on the experience, for her, the performance serves as a “reminder, the connection of what’s beautiful here comes from the divine.”

“It’s just beautiful. It’s a beautiful reminder, a beautiful way to portray it.”

Reporting by Roland Ree 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.