SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘There Really Is Nothing Else Like’ Shen Yun, Says Company Owner

Feb 09, 2025

DETROIT—Scott Kirkpatrick, an insurance agency owner, attended a Shen Yun Performance at the Detroit Opera House on Feb. 8. “I’ve been wanting to see this for so long,” he said. “It is something so unique there really is nothing else like it.”

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its founding in 2006, Shen Yun has received praise from audiences worldwide and has grown into eight equally sized companies that perform simultaneously around the globe.

A Shen Yun performance features classical Chinese dance, Chinese ethnic and folk dance, and live orchestra accompaniment. Shen Yun Orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine classical Western and Eastern instruments. Blending traditional Eastern melodies with powerful Western orchestration, Shen Yun’s music has won the praise of award-winning musicians and critics alike.

Mr. Kirkpatrick loved the music and the sound of traditional Chinese instruments. He said, “The music is good. I’ve been trying to pick out the ancient oriental instruments out of the orchestra, so it’s been fun trying to figure out what’s coming from where, what musical instrument. Some stuff I’m not that familiar with, but it all blends together very nicely.”

He added that he was “just amazed at the athleticism [of the dancers].”

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and show the world the beauty of China before communism.

“It seems to have a lot of emphasis on kindness and goodness, some Christian attributes, but from a Chinese perspective,” he said.

“We need a lot more of it. Because we’ve seen how much nastiness there is in the world and hopefully see a little bit of change coming. It takes a lot of people doing a lot of good stuff, and this is all a part of it.”

One of Shen Yun’s dance dramas depicts the story of faith and courage in modern-day China, where the spiritual discipline Falun Gong is under persecution by the regime.

“I’ve been following [the persecution] quite a bit,” he said. “It’s beyond incredible that that kind of thing goes on today. And it’s scary that those people [the Chinese Communist Party] want to rule the world.”

“It shows what a lot of hard work and dedication to a cause can do.”

Mr. Kirkpatrick said he hoped more people could watch Shen Yun.

“I will let other people know about it. My sister-in-law is jealous that we got to come first, and I’m sure she'll want to go see it after we give her a good report,” he said.

Reporting by Nancy Ma and Sophia Fang.

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