SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is ‘Speaking Truth to Power’ Against the CCP, Says Author

Feb 26, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Author Boone Cutler had heard that Shen Yun Performing Arts was doing something special but hadn’t realized what that meant until he saw a performance for himself at the Kennedy Center on Feb. 25.

“Before I came tonight, I did not, I didn’t understand why this was so important. But to be able to tell the story, the story of the Chinese people and how the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] affects everybody in a negative way, and to tell it through the arts, I think is very, very important,” Mr. Cutler said.

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.

The stories told through dance span 5,000 years, including vignettes based on true current events. On Feb. 25, Mr. Cutler saw stories of Chinese people holding onto faith and tradition despite the CCP’s religious persecution, which has gone as far as live organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.

“With everything that’s happening, with the live organ harvesting, with the incarcerations, with the torture, the way to get that information out is just like this, like this lobby here that we’re standing in right now,” Mr. Cutler told a report after the seeing the performance. “People are talking about the things that they seen, and that creates the conversation. And the more people talking about it, the more power the people have.”

Mr. Cutler believed the artists did not take their mission lightly.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful show. But what impresses me the most is knowing that every person on the stage is under threat by the CCP,” he said.

“And their family is under threat. And they’re still brave enough to come out here and put their face in front of everybody and not be afraid, to be strong.”

“The strength of the people willing to stand up who are under threat is what is most impressive to me. It’s honorable. It’s strong,” he said. “It’s something that should get more attention.”

“They’re speaking truth to power. They’re speaking out against the CCP,” he said.

Reporting by Jenny Jing 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.