Assistant Police Chief Says ‘Chinese Culture Is Beautiful’
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Steven Tarter and his wife, Jennifer Earls, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Jan. 31, 2026. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times
ATLANTA—The audience at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center was energized during Shen Yun Performing Arts on January 31. Steven Tarter and his wife, Jennifer Earls, found so much to enjoy. This was their first time seeing Shen Yun.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture before communism. Mr. Tarter said Shen Yun’s mission is “very valuable. It’s beautiful to watch this. Chinese culture is beautiful. I would love to see that across China.”
Traditional Chinese culture is filled with spiritual lessons and messages. For him, Mr. Tarter said the spiritual message is “do good. Treat people the right way, and good things will happen.”
Unfortunately, the communist regime suppresses and persecutes people of faith, and Shen Yun is banned in China.
Mr. Tarter said he was aware of the persecution in China, despite the efforts of the regime to cover up the oppression. Shen Yun brings this issue on stage and raises this awareness around the world.
He said it’s very important to expose the evil. “I don’t know that we could do anything to help them other than raise awareness,” he said.
He said that it’s important to speak out, “but I think ultimately it may have to come from China, the Chinese people—to change the government.”
The beauty of the colors impressed Ms. Earls. “I always associate China with the black and the red and the white, and seeing all these colors is really interesting,” she said.
Mr. Tarter, the assistant police chief of Cobb County, Georgia, said he enjoyed several dance pieces. “The dancing was great. I liked ['How The Monkey King Came to Be‘]. It was fun to watch.” He also enjoyed ’Water Sleeves.’
Ms. Earls, an audit manager for the federal government, also liked ‘Water Sleeves’ in terms of their movement, especially “their flexibility and the grace.”
Google Strategist Appreciates Shen Yun’s Spiritually Elevating Experience
Michael Gurliaccio attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Jan. 31, 2026. Roland Ree/The Epoch Times
Michael Gurliaccio, a senior content designer and strategist for Google, said he appreciated the values Shen Yun presented from traditional Chinese culture. “I think a lot of people just think about China now in its modern context or post-modern context, and they don’t think about the thousands of years of history it had before it was communist,” Mr. Gurliaccio said.
He commented on the spiritually elevating experience he received from Shen Yun. “It kind of reminded me of in college—I studied philosophy and religion, and I took some classes in Eastern philosophies and religions. It reminded me of that time, I guess pre-communist China,” he said. “I should go back to it.”
With his background in technology, Mr. Gurliaccio enjoyed Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop, where performers jump in and out of the fantasy landscape. He liked “ how they interact with the background, and that’s fun. I didn’t expect that at all.”
“I didn’t know how much would be historical and story-based, so it’s very interesting. [They are] new stories to me. And I didn’t know that the backdrop would be digitized.”
Shen Yun also features a live orchestra that combines Eastern and Western instruments playing original music. “It sounds wonderful,” Mr. Gurliaccio said. “I wish I could see more of the pit, but [even so] they sound amazing.”
Mr. Gurliaccio was impressed with the skill of the dancers. “Wow. Very athletic. I was just thinking, there’s so many dancers on stage, but it’s all choreographed. They’re working together. It’s pretty amazing,” he said. “Very vivid colors, very high energy.”
Reporting by Frank Liang, Roland Ree, and Yvonne Marcotte.
