SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Theatregoers Thankful That There Are Shows Like Shen Yun

Jan 21, 2023

FAIRFAX, Va.—Audience members young and old have been able to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts and thoroughly enjoy it. Cybersecurity specialist Walter York watched Shen Yun with his wife Angela York and their daughter on Jan. 21 at the George Mason University Center for the Arts.

The couple praised Shen Yun’s performance for being clean, and Mr. York said it was a performance that he could bring his children to “and not feel worried about what’s going to be presented and shown.”

“I thought it was beautifully done,” said Mrs. York. “I liked the cleanness of it … I thought it portrayed a lot of cleanliness, a lot of morality. I love that they showed faith and [a] strong community, and just the beauty that comes from that.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists, who made it their mission to revive traditional Chinese culture through classical Chinese dance and music.

Shen Yun’s program is made up of a number of dance vignettes, some of which are story-based dances. One story-based dance is set in modern-day China and depicts the communist regime’s persecution of followers of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. This is a very personal story to some of the performers; according to Shen Yun’s website, many of the performers had to escape China’s oppressive communist government, and some of the performers and their families have personally experienced the persecution.

“Some of the trials that the actors and company have gone through to be able to have this show—we were able to research some of the history about it,” said Mr. York. “It seems that their current government is not as accepting of their teaching of prior history. So, very much, we enjoyed it.”

“I appreciate the hard work that they’ve done. It’s very obvious that they worked very hard to present a quality, wonderful product. From what I’ve heard … some of them have paid a price … back in China. I appreciate the price that they paid to be able to bring this to us.”

According to Shen Yun’s website, China was once known as “the Land of the Divine.” Traditional Chinese culture was founded on the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, which were abolished when the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949. Shen Yun’s performance reflects the spiritual elements of Chinese culture, which the Yorks, as Christians, appreciated.

“As a Christian, I personally loved it,” said Mrs. York. “I think we take for granted the value of human life and where we came from.”

“It (Shen Yun) had a very central focus—[the] story about Creation and coming to the world and honoring that Creation,” added Mr. York. “A lot of things today wouldn’t even want to recognize a higher being … It just makes you feel good, and thankful that there are shows like this.”

Reporting by Amy Hu 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.