SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Gives Off a Sense of ‘Wholesomeness and Completeness,’ Says Company Owner

Jan 01, 2025

SAN ANTONIO—On New Year’s Eve, electrical company owner Joey White and Vanessa Knox, owner of a cleaning company, attended Shen Yun’s matinee at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

The couple thought the show was “beautiful, heartfelt, and divine.”

“I thought it was absolutely divine. I think the interpretation of the gathering of religions with the Creator above was just so well put, especially at the conclusion of the show. It was beautiful,” Mr. White said.

“I thought people should [take away from the show] that there should be good on this earth. We should always do good, even in the face of predominant evil.”

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.

Before the communist party’s spread of atheism, Chinese people were very spiritual and had a deep belief in the divine. For thousands of years, their values and day-to-day actions were strictly governed by the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

The artists have made it their mission to bring back China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture through music and dance, sharing with the world the beauty of “China before communism.”

Through watching Shen Yun’s interpretation of traditional culture, Mr. White felt that “our souls should have good principles as far as honoring our elderly, the weak, the poor—when we get to a higher power of our prosperity, we should always try to support and honor the poor, the elderly, and the weak.”

Ms. Knox, too, loved the performance.

“I really can’t put into words the performance and what it brought to me, but I felt peace and happiness,” she commented.

The performers are “dedicated, and they’re professional. They’ve worked super hard.”

The couple also thoroughly enjoyed Shen Yun’s live orchestra. Mr. White said its music “bridged the gap” and achieved a “harmonic balance between the physical and the spiritual.”

“I feel like music is the vibration that threads us together and fuels the universe—which gives us life,” he said. “I felt it [in the performance] the entire time. Absolutely. It was an interpretation of what the dancers were trying to depict.”

Throughout the matinee, Mr. White felt a sense of “wholesomeness and completeness.” It comforted him and was very inspiring.

According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments.

Using classical Western orchestration as the foundation, Shen Yun’s original compositions highlight traditional Chinese instruments such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa—an ancient Chinese lute.

Referring to the company’s ongoing struggle with interference and harassment from the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. White urged the performers to “stay in the free land” and “don’t get stopped.”

“If you need help, we will help you. You’ve got support here in the United States, one hundred percent, especially in San Antonio, Texas. We love you.”

Last but not least, Mr. White would like to express his gratitude to Shen Yun’s artistic director.

“I appreciate you greatly for carrying on this performance and showing so much dedication to your work because it’s absolutely depicted and interpreted by your performers,” he said.

“Keep doing what you’re doing; you’re doing a great job. Congratulations. Happy New Year. I hope nothing but the best for you. I hope to see you this time next year. We will definitely try to come back and see [Shen Yun] in 2025.”

Reporting by Nancy Ma 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.