Shen Yun Performing Arts: The Significant Cultural Event of Our Time

“This is just fantastic; I’ve never seen anything like it. It has many dimensions,” said university professor Richard Muller when he saw Shen Yun Performing Arts. “This the most wonderful dance I’ve seen.” Muller is a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. His family loves dance, so they went […]

When Steven Poitras, creative services director for KRON-TV attended a Shen Yun performance at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California on Dec. 15, he was amazed by the digital backdrop showing different scenes that matched the dance performance. “How the artists worked together with the background,” Poitras said. “[It’s] really, truly interesting.” “The precision was amazing,” […]

“Perseverance, faith, … respect, honor, and courage,” said dance instructor and schoolteacher Ann Yates, listing traditional values she saw portrayed in Shen Yun Performing Arts. When she attended a Shen Yun performance at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California, on the evening of Dec. 15, Yates was touched by the tradition she saw there. She admired […]

“They’re in a league of their own,” said inventor and company owner Dennis Dorando when he saw Shen Yun Performing Arts. “I think it’s one of the greatest shows I’ve seen. The colors are just amazing. I’m just so impressed,” he said. Dorando attended a performance by Shen Yun, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance […]

When business owner Gregg Berman and his companion, Joy Chiu, went to see Shen Yun Performing Arts together, Chiu didn’t know what to expect at first. In fact, she didn’t even know where they were going. Berman took Chiu to experience Shen Yun as a surprise gift. They enjoyed the performance of classical Chinese dance […]

Victor Estevez has watched Shen Yun Performing Arts every year for five years. “I come back every year because it’s like a recharge [of] my spirit and myself,” said Estevez, national sales director of a catering company in the San Francisco Bay Area. “[It’s] recharging my batteries.” Estevez attended the performance at Zellerbach Hall on […]

Shen Yun Performing Arts has arrived in the San Francisco Bay area for the 2019 season in Berkeley. Audience members were inspired after watching the first performance at Zellerbach Hall. John Hamilton, radio host for KGO radio since 1987, experienced Shen Yun on Dec. 12 and said, he appreciated the dancers and their interaction with […]

Between juggling work, community service, and travel, Maryn and Garry Hurlbut say it is easy to get caught up with the day to day happenings of our world. But a recent visit to California’s Berkeley Zellerbach Hall to experience Shen Yun Performing Arts allowed the couple a glimpse beyond what our world has to offer. […]

“It was a surprise; I didn’t expect such a beautiful combination of Western and Asian culture. Fascinating. It’s very visual music.” “In a few years from now, it may happen that when you go to a classical concert, the program of the concert will include Asian music adapted for Western classical music, so this orchestra […]

“I think [the Shen Yun Orchestra] is wonderful. The mixture of the instruments from China and the Western arrangements are just wonderful.” “It increases your appreciation of music because it is something that you don’t usually hear—this type of mixture.”

“It was great. It was probably the best performance I have ever been to. Because, I felt it deep down inside my soul, like the deepest part of my soul. I felt it.” “It was really, really good—and as soon as the first song started playing I actually started crying, that is how much it […]

“I have come here the last three times [the Shen Yun Orchestra] have been here and enjoyed it every time.” “I like the mix of the Chinese and the Western music and I like the way they balance it within the pieces—it’s beautiful.” “Music is a very spiritual thing, in my opinion, and this just […]

“[Shen Yun Orchestra musicians] are quite good, very organized, … a great, enjoyable experience. [The music] is a great sampling from Chinese culture and Western culture.” “[The music is] very energetic and peaceful at the same time. Very joyful.”

“It is wonderful! They really did an excellent and superb job. We really enjoyed it. It’s [outstanding] just the joy that it brings out, the excitement—excitement, joy—in all different parts.” “[The combination of Western and Eastern instruments] is what makes it kinda of unique—the music. We are not accustom to hearing all of them.” “[The […]

“I was truly touched [by Shen Yun]. On the whole, I could sense both its overwhelming powerfulness and its subtlety.” “In short, both its magnificent momentum and tenderness are very touching.” “I am a man who likes Mother Nature. When it comes to the erhu ensemble, [which played “Ancient Melody”], I seemed to vividly feel […]

“I think it was wonderful! Very, very beautiful.” “It felt very relaxing, very calming, very magical. It was wonderful to hear.” “The sound was just very calming, and the music felt good. You could feel it in your body. … I felt the music in my soul.” “Everybody should have an opportunity to come and […]

“I loved it. It was incredible, just incredible. I used to play the violin so I understand the kind of level of professionalism they’re using here, it’s just amazing. Very touched. The whole orchestra is incredible.” “It puts me in a higher place. Very high place. I saw the [dance performances of Shen Yun Performing […]

“I see these people are playing together and that they have a common language, their music, and it’s just so neat to see them all on stage.” “It’s celestial, just sounds so heavenly. The music just takes you away.”

“It’s beautiful. It’s like being in Heaven. Listening to this music is so impressive, they are very talented. It’s super pleasurable.” “It’s great how they meshed the Western and Chinese traditions. Sounds wonderful, fairly pretty.” “It feels like paradise, it’s very nice. They are super talented, super talented. It’s the best.” “I think what it […]

“Certain instruments that are played in [the Shen Yun orchestra]—are not played in any other type of orchestral setting and it’s really nice to hear it. It’s much different, it’s much more soothing.” “It’s such a unique thing [Eastern and Western instruments combined] that I don’t think I’ve seen something like this anywhere else.” “The […]

“It was truly beautiful, I really enjoyed the mix of East and West, and I thought the conductor and the entire symphony did a beautiful job.” “You could see the conductor, see the excitement, especially at the end that he was having a great time and I think it added even more to the audience […]

“It was a very good mix of music. Chinese music with [Western and Chinese instruments].” “I think it was great. I enjoyed both very much, and the Chinese instruments were lovely. Very soothing.”

“I am a fan of music, I go to many Broadway plays, listen to symphonies, orchestras, but today just exceeded my expectations.” “It is like perfection, and that is what the artist are striving for, and you see them working hard on the stage and the music that comes out is like angels playing. It […]

“I just went to Heaven—it gave me the feeling of ecstasy and the awareness of the transcendental space that connects us all with each other. And oneness—it helps me experience oneness. I’m so appreciative.” “I went to Heaven inside of myself, that peaceful place—that place where peace passes all our understanding—and it was wonderful.” “I […]

“It was fantastic. Really upbeat and I loved the combinations of the Western music with the Eastern.” “It gives me goosebumps, you know—the march music was very good.” “With the Chinese instruments, it brings this sort of melodic, very old world music—it’s fantastic.” “The soloist [Fiona Zheng], she didn’t miss a beat—beautiful, beautiful! And I […]

“[Combining Eastern and Western classical instruments is] so beautiful. It merges so beautifully with the rest of the music, and the Chinese tradition is fabulous. We love it. … It combines very delicately. It’s fabulous.” “Even if the music is sometimes exciting, it has a very calming effect.” “I found the opening piece was a […]

“It was wonderful—I felt very celestial, very heavenly … I’ve been wanting to come for years, but I haven’t, I’m glad I did.” “I’m a bit of a percussionist. I loved it all, but I was listening to the percussion because that’s what I do. I loved it.” “I like to sit up close because […]