SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Insightful and Important, Says Diplomat

Feb 26, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Pauline Marquez, a diplomat, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time, and found it “really insightful.”

“I think in every culture, it’s significant to look back at the history and to revisit what was lost and to revive it if there is a need to revive it. It’s important to share that with future generations and for history to not be forgotten,” said Ms. Marquez, Congressional Liaison Officer at the Embassy of Malaysia to the United States, at the Kennedy Center on Feb. 25. Ms. Marquez saw the performance with John Chilimigris, who found the performance elegant and interesting.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance company. Through music and dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.

As someone new to Shen Yun and traditional Chinese culture, Ms. Marquez said the performance made it wonderfully easy to follow, from the well-told stories to the emcees that introduce each vignette to set the scene and the informative programs that lend depth and context to the 5,000-year journey of a performance.

“For someone who hasn’t seen it before, it’s really important to underscore the meaning of things. So it’s good that they’re actually explaining it. I was actually reading it as I was watching it too, so it’s just really insightful,” Ms. Marquez said.

“I’m part Chinese myself, so I think it’s important to get to know the culture,” added Ms. Marquez, who grew up in the Philippines.

Also seeing Shen Yun for the first time that night were Paula Ross and Paul Smith, the president and board director of the Ginghamburg Germantown Chamber of Commerce, respectively.

“It was gorgeous,” Ms. Ross said. “It was a beautiful performance. I enjoyed the storytelling. I enjoyed the artistry very much.”

Mr. Smith said they had wanted to see Shen Yun for years, and it was everything they wanted.

“I just thought it was beautifully done, the music, the dancing. The colors [were] very vibrant,” he said. “Just stunning and very talented dancers.”

Ms. Ross added that about a dozen members of her organization had attended that evening and would recommend it to others, saying, “It’s stunning, that it’s absolutely beautiful and worth the evening.”

“I think art brings us all together. Art and talent, and in a cultural arts center in the heart of America’s capital can bring us all together,” said Ms. Ross.

Reporting by Frank Liang, Weiyong Zhu, and Catherine Yang.

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