SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is ‘Very Eye-Opening and Very Spiritual,’ Says Dallas Audience

Jan 21, 2024

DALLAS—Chad Hetrick, a probation officer, and his wife Shannon, an elementary school teacher, expressed their satisfaction with Shen Yun Performing Arts after attending its evening show at the Music Hall at Fair Park on Jan. 20.

Mr. Hetrick said enthusiastically as he exited the theater, “It was worth every penny.”

“For first-time people to ever see it—it’s like, ‘Wow.’ It gave me goosebumps,” he stated. “[My tears] welled up a few times. It was also comical and very funny at times. It was an ensemble that’s out of this world.”

Mrs. Hetrick, on the other hand, was so mesmerized by the performance that she “didn’t have any words” to describe the experience. “It was wonderful, it was beautiful,” she exclaimed.

Based in New York, Shen Yun’s performance is comprised of a series of short pieces that take its audience on a ride through the dynasties and across the vast regions of China.

Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun tells tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Mr. Hetrick loved Shen Yun’s music. He said the musicians were “so good you forget that there’s a live orchestra. It flows; it’s so perfect.”

Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments, according to the company’s website.

Using classical Western orchestration as the foundation, Shen Yun’s original compositions highlight traditional Chinese instruments such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa—an ancient Chinese lute. Bringing to its audience the best of both worlds.

However, what touched Mr. Hetrick the most about the performance were the spiritual elements of Shen Yun.

“The stories that parallel with God—the Creator, and mankind—that’s parallel to Christianity. It’s just very neat, very neat. Very eye-opening and very spiritual,” Mr. Hetrick expressed.

The message he will be taking home with him is that irrespective of cultural differences, humans are not so different after all. Despite the inherent goodness in mankind, there has been a decline in morality. The solution to this predicament is to look to the Creator and strive to follow in his footsteps.

Prior to the communist regime’s violent takeover, ancient Chinese people were very spiritual and had a deep belief in the divine. The artists’ mission is to bring back this traditional culture.

Mrs. Hetrick chimed in that Shen Yun’s story-based dances are all “very relatable.”

“Even the [legends] that happened thousands of years ago relate to kindness—We can use all that even today,” she said.

Reporting by Sonia Wu 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.