“The show is very magnificent. This is my sixth year coming. … I still keep coming back. I’ve seen it before but I don’t mind seeing it again because the beauty of all the dancers and the energy they put in, the costumes, the colors, and the culture it represents. It’s beautiful.”

“The singing is just amazing, totally amazing. … It took me back in time. Obviously I couldn’t understand what she was singing but I was reading [the translated lyrics on the backdrop] and I was crying a little bit. It’s very touching. It reaches out to people into their hearts, to who they really are.”

“The girl who plays the erhu and the one that was singing the opera—so beautiful, so beautiful. The music that is behind the dancers—everything comes together. I love all those people playing those instruments, they bring everything alive, and the dancers come alive because of them. Everyone works as a team. It’s awesome. I want to tell them, ‘Thank you so much, I love you.’”

“[Shen Yun] is very uplifting because it really shows you what life is really about. Whatever situation you might be in, it kind of lets you forget that. … It does open up people’s hearts. I really think it opens up hearts.”

“I think another thing it brings out is your intuition, your creativity. When you actually let go of yourself, it will allow you to think more intelligently and more lovingly. You’ll feel more love for people around you and for yourself as well, because you have to start off with yourself. You’ve got to love yourself and it actually opens up your heart. It opens up a door to really understand yourself and the world around you and appreciate it.

“That is why I keep on coming. … I’ll come and see it every year, I absolutely will.”