“They made it look so easy but the gymnastics and the athleticism were amazing. And then just the appreciation of the culture. It just makes me appreciate how deep the history of the Chinese culture is.  5,000 years–we’re such babies here.”

“I found myself closing my eyes quite often and just thinking what it meant to me. Because it is personal, very personal. It’s very moving. I'll think about it for many, many weeks. … How can you walk out of this theatre and not believe in something higher than yourself today? … I’m just thinking how mundane it is I have to go home and cut my lawn. I have to get back to normal life.”

“We sat right there and I found myself again watching how professional and easy [the Shen Yun Orchestra] made these very complex instruments look when they played.”

“To be close enough to watch [erhu soloist Mei Xuan] work her hands on those strings was amazing. The strength in her hands, and the spirituality you could see in her playing.

“You could feel it. We were that close. You could really just kind of feel she wasn’t playing the instrument—the instrument was playing her … Being that close, I’m not sure anybody 10, 15 rows back would have seen what my wife and I saw, just the passion in her movement. She just played. It made it seem so effortless.”