SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is an Extremely High-Quality Entertainment With a Moral Message, Says Retired Company VP

Mar 23, 2025

3/23/2025Updated: 3/23/2025

INDIANAPOLIS—Retired engineer and company VP Ric Kleine and his wife, Peggy, a retired adjunct professor, were pleasantly surprised by Shen Yun Performing Arts when they attended the company’s evening show at the Clowes Memorial Hall on March 22.

Exiting the theater at the end of the evening, Mr. Kleine said “We really felt it was outstanding.”

“It was a lot different than what we were expecting. I think the main thing was the dance—just in the movements and it was all choreographed very well. We really were impressed with all of the background and how that was blended with the movement of the people and the characters flying off and everything else,” he added.

“It was just really very professional and it had a good message. I think that was the main thing that came out, was a very good message in terms of why we’re here, what we should be doing, how we should be living, and who we need to give praise to.”

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

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The goal of the artists is to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

Mr. Kleine is very supportive of the performers’ mission and thinks it’s “very important” for people today.

“We’ve lost our way. I think the message was not what you have and what you accumulate here. It’s what you do for others and how you give and care. It’s the peace, the love, the caring for each other—that was the thing,” he shared.

“Today, it’s a rough world. It’s a very rough world, and we were committed to coming tonight just because of what this group represents with regards to getting … the message out of what’s really going on in China.”

Mrs. Kleine, too, loved the traditional values the artists introduced and thought it’s was a shame that the communist regime destroyed all of that in their greed for total control and power.

“It’s sad because there’s so much in the culture, so rich. It was great seeing [Shen Yun] because it really highlighted the cultural aspects of China. It wasn’t an acrobatic show, it was dance and it was cultural history. It was good,” she said.

“I think that people forget what’s important, and we, maybe, are not caring about each other like we should. I thought the [spiritual] aspect of [the performance] was very good. I also think that some things need to be done in China to make things a little better for everyone.”

Mr. Kleine hopes that Shen Yun will be able to bring people closer to heaven. He was very especially moved by the singer’s solo performance.

“We were reading the words and the reference that was made to atheism and evolution, I think it was very direct… We were created and we were put on this earth, and we need to recognize that and live according to what the Creator expected of us. Which is tough, but we all need to do what we can and be humble and devout,” he said.

“With this level of a production—so grand and so great—it really gives [the message] even more credibility. You got a whole culture of people that believe this, it’s not just a few people around or the churches that are saying it. It’s what we should be doing.”

He will be telling all his friends and family that Shen Yun is “an extremely high-quality entertainment but also a very ethical and moral message that the audience is given. … The level of the performers is just incredible.”

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.