SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Absolutely Fabulous,’ Says CIO

Feb 04, 2023
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Shen Yun ‘Absolutely Fabulous,’ Says CIO
David Fien and Mona Harper enjoyed Shen Yun at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square, in Cleveland, on the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Huang/The Epoch Times)

CLEVELAND—David Fien, CIO of an IT company, and Mona Harper, paralegal, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening performance at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square, where the classical Chinese dance company will be performing three shows over the weekend.

“I'll use two words [to summarize]: absolutely fantastic,” said Mr. Fien after the Feb. 4 matinee.

“Magical and beautiful,” Ms. Harper added.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company and has been performing in packed theaters around the world since 2006, with an all-new production every year.
For Mr. Fien, the culture and beliefs transmitted through the language of the arts were of great importance.

“History is very important. You need to know where you came from to know where you’re going, So very important,” he said. “I love learning all about different cultures and different beliefs.”

While Shen Yun has a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, it is not welcome in China. The Chinese Communist Party has for 70 years tried to destroy traditional culture, and Shen Yun even touches on this in a story-based dance this year, which Mr. Fien found impressive.

“That’s probably my favorite piece so far. It’s a shame that that still goes on today. You can’t practice your beliefs and there’s somebody looking over your shoulder and want to take that away,” he commented. “It’s very important, you have to let people know when there’s injustice and persecution going on in the world, so it’s very good.”

Mr. Fien said he got a lot out of the experience, and would definitely recommend it to friends.

Beau Phillips and Gina Mazzone enjoyed Shen Yun at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square, in Cleveland, on the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Huang/The Epoch Times)
Beau Phillips and Gina Mazzone enjoyed Shen Yun at The State Theatre at Playhouse Square, in Cleveland, on the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Huang/The Epoch Times)

Gina Mazzone, mental health therapist, and Beau Phillips, real estate agent and business owner, had a great first experience with Shen Yun as well, and much to share after the performance.

“I think it’s beautiful. It’s wonderful. It’s vibrant. It’s thrilling. It’s engaging. And it seems to be steeped in traditional Chinese movements,” Mr. Phillips said. “It’s very impressive. And the talent is throughout the entire cast.”

“It’s beautiful. The amount of activity that’s going on throughout in the storyline, you must stay very focused to follow all the movements and everything to not miss anything. It’s very fast-paced at times, but also—fluent, very fluent,” he added.

Ms. Mazzone said it was “beautiful. The dancing is just so elegant and they’re just so talented.”

“They’re just so light on their feet and they have these beautiful costumes and they’re in those high shoes and they’re still able to dance around and not fall. They just did a great job,” she said referring to the Manchurian Ethnic Dance, where female dancers wore the court ladies’ customary elevated “flower pot shoes.”
Along with 5,000 years of history, Shen Yun showcases a number of folk and ethnic dances from China’s 50-some ethnic minority groups.

“I think it’s wonderful because I think that Westerners don’t necessarily always know so much about Chinese history, so to kind of bring that inside of something that brings people to the theater and puts them in that place for education is wonderful,” Mr. Phillips said.

“The way that they present it is very wonderful and engaging again to the audience. And I think that it adds another little bit of the mystique in introducing the culture,” he said.

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