SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Has the ‘Right Idea’ Says Audience Member

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Shen Yun Has the ‘Right Idea’ Says Audience Member
Ruben Perez attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Harris Theater in Chicago on April 14, 2024. Stacey Tang/The Epoch Times
CHICAGO—Ruben Perez, a car dealership owner, enjoyed a performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Harris Theater on April 14. “We are enjoying it very much. It’s a great show,” he said.
He noted that modern China is very different from ancient China and its traditional culture. “[It’s] still a country that obviously is a communist country where freedoms are still not quite what they should be, but a lot of great culture. There’s a lot of history behind the Chinese culture. In communist China, people don’t have as much freedom as I think they should have. I mean, there’s great values. I think we’re missing some of that here, conservative values.”

Mr. Perez said that America has changed. “I think we’ve become in the United States a little too liberal,” but that traditional China was on the right path. “But you guys have, I think, the right idea. I think we need to be somewhere in the middle.”

“I think [Shen Yun] shows what Chinese culture is like and, again, a lot of great tradition. I mean, I’m enjoying the show.”

He agreed there is a need for more spirituality in life and enjoyed the opening scene where divine beings came down to the world. “That was actually fun and a little enlightening. I mean, we all need a little spirituality, right? I like to think that we’re not the greatest that there is in the universe.

“I believe there’s a bigger being than just us. Some people call it God, some people call it Allah, some people call it Buddha. Whatever it is, there’s something bigger than us, I think.”

Shen Yun Is ‘Funny, Calming, Very Visually Pleasing’

John Dombrowski and Caroline Timpling enjoyed the Shen Yun performance on April 14. “It was great. Absolutely wonderful,” Ms. Timpling said.

Mr. Dombrowski enjoyed the variety of the dances. “Great mixing—serious, fun, and light-hearted. It was a great mix,” he said, although he noted some serious themes, such as conflicting views, are not allowed in modern China.

Caroline Timpling and John Dombroski attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Harris Theater in Chicago on April 14, 2024. (Stacey Tang/The Epoch Times)
Caroline Timpling and John Dombroski attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Harris Theater in Chicago on April 14, 2024. Stacey Tang/The Epoch Times

Ms. Timpling agreed. “About like communism and the effects on the country,” she said.

She said she enjoyed China’s traditional culture more, such as “all the myths that come before it, like the Buddhists. It was very interesting, very different, I think, from Western mythology. There’s a lot more humor to it, like with the Monkey King. That was very funny.

“I did really like the Monkey King one,” she said. “I just thought it was very funny and cute. The dancers did a really good job of communicating emotion throughout the whole scene. So I really enjoyed that one. But honestly, all the dances were really gorgeous, and lovely to watch.”

Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun is sharing with the world the beauty of China’s authentic 5,000 years of history. Since its founding in 2006, the company has received worldwide accolades for its mission to revive traditional Chinese culture.

Mr. Dombroski liked China’s traditional culture. There was “empowerment through art. Overall, it was very pleasing. It made you think, and then also laugh, and have a good time.

“It was just a very incredible experience all around: Funny, calming, very visually pleasing, stunning at times, as well. So it was great. Hopefully, in a few years, we get to do it again,” he said.

Ms. Timpling has positive feelings throughout the performance. “I think it was just like happiness, but also calmness, too. It was just appreciating the way that the dancing and the colors did a really good job.”

With shows scheduled in over 200 cities and across five continents, the 2024 touring season is shaping up to be the artists’ busiest yet.
Reporting by Stacey Tang and Yvonne Marcotte.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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