SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Historically Important and Significant,’ Says North Carolina Audience Member

Jan 18, 2025

RALEIGH, N.C.—After surviving a stroke, Charles Cox chose to celebrate life—and repay the niece who helped him during his ordeal—by buying tickets to see a classical Chinese dance performance at Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium in North Carolina. On Jan. 18, they watched New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, which depicts “China before communism” through its dances, and it inspired the surviving uncle so much that he passed on encouragement to the dancers, whose culture was nearly destroyed under communism.

Mr. Cox, a retired strategic planner in the defense industry, told The Epoch Times he felt “sorry for them” that Shen Yun could not perform in China, but quickly spoke words to bolster the artists:

“They have to tell the world how it is in their country,” he said. “You are wonderful. That’s the only thing I can say. So talented. So much talent. I know what it takes to achieve that perfection. It takes a whole lifetime.”

“I think it was historically important and significant,” he said of the performance.

Kim Baldwin, a financial adviser, is the niece who helped Mr. Cox throughout his ordeal. During the performance, she learned the dance company’s backstory and its mission: “to revive a culture that was once almost lost” through campaigns like China’s Cultural Revolution.

Although she noted the show’s beauty first, Ms. Baldwin made a point: “They wouldn’t be able to do a performance like this in China,” speaking of what the Shen Yun hosts told the audience between segments in the performance. Then she added how Shen Yun’s cohorts in China are “still being persecuted.”

Shen Yun’s website states what is being persecuted and why: “The Chinese Communist Party has treated traditional culture as a threat to its rule” and therefore “has systematically uprooted traditional beliefs and destroyed ancient treasures, bringing 5,000 years of civilization to the brink of extinction.”

In 2006, a group of classical Chinese artists came together in New York and formed Shen Yun to recall to life this near-extinct culture and share it with the world.

Expelling the dark tones, harmony and light also took center stage during today’s show. “It’s so graceful,” Mr. Cox said, “One side of the stage to the other, they’re in unison—very much so.”

“I love seeing the performers and the live music that they’ve got, a live orchestra. They’re flawless in their movements,” Ms. Baldwin said. “It’s beautiful.”

Reporting by Maggie Xie and Michael Wing.

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