SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Makes You Feel Like You’ve Reached Back Into Nature and Found Your Roots’: California Theatergoer

Jan 18, 2024

ESCONDIDO, Calif.—When mosaic glass artist Cherrie LaPorte attended Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 18, she was mesmerized by the show’s variety of vivid colors.

“The colors were wonderful. It’s my first time. I’m so excited to come because of the colors and the costumes and the dance,” she exclaimed.

“I’m a big advocate for dance and the expression of [traditional Chinese] culture. Their spirituality—I didn’t know that was going to be part of the whole message.”

Ms. LaPorte, who studied Buddhism, found the show very relatable and felt a connection to “the divine and the freedom of the people.”

“I think it’s just a wonderful expression to see how the Creator is part of this whole entourage of what’s happening,” she added. “It was all in the expression of what [the artists] stand for and the unity of our spirituality.”

Before the communist regime’s violent takeover and spread of atheism, Chinese people were very spiritual and had a deep belief in the divine. For thousands of years, their values and day-to-day actions were strictly governed by the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

The mission of New York-based Shen Yun artists is to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

Ms. LaPorte said the show will be serving as an inspiration for her future artistic creations. She especially enjoyed the innovative 3D backdrop.

“I loved it. It’s so well done and very unique,” she said. “I haven’t seen [anything] quite like that—it brings more emphasis than just the dance on the stage. It expands the whole performance. It’s wonderful.”

According to its website, Shen Yun’s digital technology creates seamless interaction between the backdrop projection and the performers on stage. “By extending the stage to infinite realms,” this patented 3D invention brings to the audience “storytelling without limits.”

Michael Grulli attended Shen Yun's matinee at the California Center for the Arts on Jan. 18, 2024. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times) — Michael Grulli attended Shen Yun's matinee at the California Center for the Arts on Jan. 18, 2024. Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times

Musician and writer Michael Grulli, too, was touched by the beauty of Shen Yun. He said it was “very uplifting and very hopeful [to see] that communism is not taking over all the Chinese people or the world.”

“[Shen Yun] is a return to sanity. It makes you feel like you’ve reached back into nature and you’ve just found your roots. You just feel deeply immersed in the whole experience,” he expressed.

A musician himself, Mr. Grulli, said he felt every aspect of the matinee.

“The whole time I’m watching the dance, I’m also feeling the music, I’m feeling the exhilaration from the acting and the emotions—it’s amazing,” he said, adding that Shen Yun’s story-based pieces are “really well thought out.”

He was especially moved by the dance depicting the persecution of innocent people by the Chinese Communist Party in modern-day China.

“[Americans] are lucky that we’ve had freedom for as long as we had it. But now, [communism] is seeping through the cracks, and it’s coming up from somewhere. History is repeating, unfortunately.”

The message Mr. Grulli will be taking home with him from Shen Yun is that “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

“You have this time in your life to accomplish your dreams and your goals. Money and wealth is not always the answer, but rather, finding out who you really are and what your purpose is,” he said.

“It was wonderful to be able to come and watch such talent and be completely immersed into a whole different realm, different world. This is what we need to get back to.”

Reporting by Linda Jiang 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.