“It’s brilliant, actually. The way the music and the costuming and the dance all go together ... is incredible. It’s just a beautiful, artistic piece.”

“I see God [in Shen Yun]. I see the spirit of love and peace and the way that you would want the universe to be, the way you would want the world to be: at peace and with the freedom to be able to express your own belief. And love, I feel a lot of love through it. The movement in itself creates the spirit of what [they] are trying to portray, and it’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful.”

“I was a gymnastics coach for years, and a dancer, and a choreographer, so I see a lot that’s involved in it. I really appreciate the whole aspect of the beauty of the art. People do not understand the years that it takes to train, because they make it look so simple, but that’s the art of it. That’s the technique of it that people do not understand, the years and years and years of experience that goes into making it look so beautiful and simple. I appreciate that because I know.”

“The music creates the movements, the movement without the music is nothing, [and with] the backdrop, the whole thing goes together. That’s what creates the magic.”

“Even if you do not understand the meaning of the Chinese heritage or history, the spirit of what comes through is very meaningful. Because of the music, because of the costumes, because of the movements, it all creates this. This is like my faith. It’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, that’s what’s created in all of this.”