SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun’s Message Is ‘Beautiful and Traditional,’ Says Wyoming Theatergoer

Mar 26, 2025

3/26/2025Updated: 3/26/2025

CHEYENNE, Wyo—When company manager Brad Dannettell entered Cheyenne Civic Center on March 25, he hadn’t expected to see so much beauty and culture. After attending Shen Yun Performing Arts, Mr. Dannettell said the evening was fantastic and beautiful.

“It’s fantastic. The cultural change from what I would normally see as Western dance, to Eastern culture—Chinese dance, is fantastic. It’s beautiful. The use of the costumes—it’s just fantastic,” he said.

The New York-based Shen Yun was founded by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The mission of 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.

Mr. Dannettell deeply resonated with this mission and loved the artists’ incorporation of spirituality into the performance.

Reflecting on the message shared by Shen Yun’s singer, he discovered many parallels between his own faith and that of ancient Chinese culture.

The message “was good. It was beautiful and traditional,” he said. Atheism is “not just wrong. It takes away hope. That was the second line [of the lyrics.] It does take away hope. So that was really cool.”

He also really enjoyed the Tibetan ethnic dance and the water sleeves—a classical Chinese dance where the female dancers’ long sleeves billowed and flowed like the gentle movement of water on stage.

According to the company’s website, these sleeves were a part of ancient Chinese feminine attire representing humility and grace.

“It’s beautiful. I love the water and it looked just like it. So that was amazing,” he said. The Tibetan dance. I have a friend who worked as a missionary, a doctor, to the Tibetan people in China. ... So it was beautiful to see the Tibetan dance included. It was awesome.”

Mr. Dannettell is aware of the ongoing persecution of the people of faith by the Chinese Communist Party, and thought it was very interesting that Shen Yun is based in New York and not in China.

Since its inception in 2006, Shen Yun has received widespread acclaim. However, due to its commitment to reviving traditional culture and raising awareness of human rights issues in China, it is banned by the ruling communist regime from performing in China.

“It’s interesting because the two cultures, right now, we seem to be at odds, but the history of Chinese culture is very close from the standpoint of understanding of faith. It’s beautiful,” he expressed.

“It’s been wonderful. I really like this show. It was our friend who said she wanted to come and so it was like, ‘Okay, we'll come,’ but I’m so glad I came. It was worth it.”

Last but not least, Mr. Dannettel would like to thank the performers “for such a beautiful rendition of [their] dancing.”

“It takes so much work and it is tiring, but it’s worth it for an audience to love—to see what you’ve done and what you brought,” he said. “It’s always wonderful. So, thank you.”

Reporting by Mary Mann 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.