SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun’s ‘Interpretations Brought Everything to Life,’ Says Business Owner

Dec 28, 2024

HOUSTON—Company manager Christina Holland and Buddy Ramos, a superintendent of an oil and gas company, attended Shen Yun’s evening show at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts for the first time on Dec. 27.

Stepping out into the lobby during intermission, Ramos said Shen Yun was an “amazing, amazing show.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by a group of leading Chinese artists who fled the persecution of China’s communist regime.

Now, in the freedom of America, these artists have come together with a shared goal: Through classical Chinese dance and music, revive China’s 5,000 years of divinely-inspired culture that was nearly destroyed by decades of communist rule.

Holland was surprised to learn about Shen Yun’s mission.

One program that stood out to her was the story-based dance piece highlighting the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong—a spiritual meditation practice rooted in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance—by the Chinese Communist Party, she said.

“I didn’t realize the persecution was still happening [in China] today,” she added. “For Americans, you realize that we have a freedom of belief. We’re so lucky compared to the Chinese.”

Holland also really appreciated Shen Yun’s hosts, who provided brief introductions and teasers for each program before the curtain opened.

“I’m glad that they explained it a little bit ahead of time,” she said. “We don’t know a lot about [traditional Chinese culture,] so it’s nice to learn a lot.”

Met with worldwide praise since its establishment, Shen Yun artists are inspiring audiences worldwide by showcasing the traditional values and spirituality of China as it once was, before the influence of communism.

The company’s eight equally-sized groups are slated to visit over 200 cities this season.

Adrienne and Kenneth Brown enjoyed Shen Yun's evening show at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts on Dec. 27, 2024. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times) — Adrienne and Kenneth Brown enjoyed Shen Yun's evening show at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts on Dec. 27, 2024. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times

Also in the audience were police chief Kenneth Brown and his wife Adrienne, a business owner. They, too, were pleasantly surprised by the richness of Shen Yun’s program.

“It gave a little bit of everything. There was the dancing, the singing, and the instrumental stuff. ... It was great,” Adrienne Brown said, adding that Shen Yun’s “interpretations brought everything to life.”

According to its website, Shen Yun’s patented 3D digital technology works together with the performers to “extend the stage to infinite realms” and brings to its audience “storytelling without limits.”

Referring to the spiritual element of the performance, Kenneth Brown said while he wasn’t expecting it when he walked in, he felt it had an important message to share with people.

“I think in today’s society, whether it be in China or in the U.S., we can use more spirituality. I think there’s a lack of that in the way we interact with one another on a daily basis.”

Reporting by Sonia Wu, Frank Liang, 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.