SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Shows ‘A Positive Picture of China,’ Says Theatergoer

Mar 30, 2025

3/30/2025Updated: 3/30/2025

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Timothy Tanner, an aircraft mechanic, and Amy Tanner, a stay-at-home mom, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts on Mar. 29.

“It’s a beautiful show,” Mr. Tanner said. “The choreography, the beauty, the grace—it’s very lovely. I really enjoy it.”

“The choreography is breathtaking,” Mrs. Tanner. “The talent of the performers—it’s wonderful to see.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception, Shen Yun has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour around the world simultaneously, reviving traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the beauty of “China before communism.”

“The look into communist China, what’s going on there, it’s heartbreaking,“ Mr. Tanner said. ”It’s really heartbreaking. We have a huge privilege to be here in the land of the free, and hopefully it stays that way.”

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith.

“The terrible persecution of people who just want to live in peace with love and compassion, it’s very sad,” Mrs. Tanner said. “When we think of China, there’s so much negative messaging. ... It’s nice to see a positive picture of China because the government of China is not the same as the people of China. And so it’s really nice to see that the traditional culture and the beauty of it that’s brought out because it reminds us that there’s both.”

Reporting by Lily Yu and Wandi Zhu.

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