NEW YORK—In the 20 years since the dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts began touring worldwide, Anthony LoGiudice has always wanted to see it since his childhood. Now that he finally did, on Friday night at Lincoln Center, he summed it up with one word:
“Mesmerizing,” he said in the theater after watching the performance. “We’ve been wanting to do this for such a long time, since I’m a little kid.”
Mr. LoGiudice, now an executive in a private equity firm, said he was moved by the message that Shen Yun expressed onstage through several classical Chinese dance segments. The program features myths and spirituality as well as tales from China today.
“They’re so passionate about what’s going on,” he said. “They feel like there needs to be some type of change.”
Based in upstate New York, Shen Yun’s artists are compelled to show the world a culture that was almost wiped out during China’s destructive Cultural Revolution. Many of Shen Yun’s members have fled China to escape religious persecution themselves, and then formed the company to raise awareness and show the world “China before communism.”
Mr. LoGiudice recalled watching one story where a male dancer played a person of faith who was abused and blinded by characters representing officers of the Chinese Communist Party. The persecuted man then experienced Divine intervention.
The Divine “gave him sight again. It’s beautiful,” LoGiudice said. “We love it. I think we’ll come back every year.”
Benjamin Wagner and Bernadette Sebzeda attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at New York's Lincoln Center on March 27, 2026. Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times
Shen Yun performed its debut show in New York’s Beacon Theater in 2006. So many years later, seasoned theatergoers—like Bernadette Sebzeda and Benjamin Wagner, who saw Friday night’s performance—say it outshone many other productions in the city that never sleeps.
“We’ve gone to many,” said Ms. Sebzeda, who works in real estate construction. Then she added, “But [Shen Yun] has life to it.”
Several of Shen Yun’s dance segments tell tales from ancient China. These artists are passionate about reviving traditional Chinese values, such as kindness, thinking of others first, and respecting the Divine.
“It actually inspires you to want to know that there’s actually something better and good in the world,” said Mr. Wagner, who works in finance.
“We love everything about Chinese culture except communism because communism is not China. And we hope that China goes back to its traditional roots, because it’s absolutely beautiful,” Ms. Sebzeda said. “There’s something divine in it.”
Mr. Wagner added, “You feel yourself much uplifted.”
Reporting by Sally Sun, Weiyong Zhu, and Michael Wing.
