SAN FRANCISCO—Shen Yun Performing Arts delighted audiences during the first week of 2025 at the War Memorial Opera Museum in San Francisco.
Theatergoers talked about Shen Yun’s exquisitely trained dancers, the fabulous costumes, and the spiritual message conveyed in the stories.
“The ancient stories—how it went all the way from Creation to the modern time—just sends a nice message,” Ms. Nuerge said.
“The message is that we’re all human beings, and we should all be treated the same instead of being [discriminated] for our religion or our politics or anything like that. We love everybody.”
China Before Communism
Susan Gibson, a business owner in the pharmaceutical industry, and her husband Patrick Mealey, a senior electrical engineer, enjoyed the January 3 performance.
“It was fabulous,” Ms. Gibson said. “It’s amazing on every front: the talent, the costumes, the acting with the stories and the expression, the history that’s conveyed. It’s remarkable. And the best talent you'll find anywhere in the world. Everyone up there is phenomenally athletic. They’re amazing dancers.”
“It’s amazing,” Mr. Mealey said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. And I very much appreciate how you’re tweaking the red Chinese because I’ve been an anti-communist since 1970.”
Lidia Pringle, author and journalist, expressed her appreciation of Shen Yun.
“The technology, the beautiful sets, the costumes, the athletic ability, the creativity, the feeling, and the emotions that are portrayed in this spectacular production really, for me, are a unique experience,“ she said, ”One that I will remember for a very long time.”
A Spiritual Message
As a pastor, Chris Graveson was fascinated to find many shared values between traditional Chinese spirituality and Christianity. It was a beautiful and amazing discovery.“It was visually stunning,” he said. “[Shen Yun] talked about the Creator and talked about returning to heaven. There are so many ways that God reveals himself to us, but it’s different in every culture.”
“The idea that you’re being persecuted because you believe in truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and having joy in believing that—it’s just tragic to me. The communists are not good people,” he said.
“The message is to show us that we’re all divine, and if we don’t forget that, we can live in a better place. The world would be a better place,” she said.
Chris and Anita Rangel saw Shen Yun on January 4. Mrs. Rangel said they will make Shen Yun an annual tradition. She said, “Now that I know that [Shen Yun] does something different every year, we’re going to come back every year. I want to see it every year!”
“It’s a must-see, definitely a must-see,” Mrs. Rangel added.
Shen Yun is coming to several venues throughout California, including Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Sacramento throughout the month of January.
