SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Business Owner Sees Chinese Culture Shine in Shen Yun

Jan 28, 2026

1/28/2026Updated: 1/28/2026

ESCONDIDO, Calif.—Darshan Morrow, a business owner, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 27 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

“I really appreciate seeing Chinese culture shine in this light, because I was raised in the Cold War, and we were taught not to like Russians. We knew the Chinese people hated their government. It was so obvious. And so to see this preservation of culture and to see it probably from the brightest light is absolutely wonderful,” Mr. Morrow said.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“It’s so perfect. These dancers, you could tell they trained for years. And every single one of them was a level ten. Every single dance—there were no shortcomings. You get your money’s worth here,” Mr. Morrow said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to present “China before communism.” Its dance stories also portray the modern true story of Falun Dafa practitioners being persecuted for their faith in China. Falun Dafa is a peaceful practice that teaches the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

“I was happy to see it. There’s some dark things over there, and we need to know about it. We need to pray against that,” Mr. Morrow said.

The costumes in Shen Yun were designed by Shen Yun’s artistic director, D.F. The costumes are all designed to match the fashion worn throughout the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

“I was very impressed with that. I didn’t realize that these colors were what you guys had thousands of years ago. It was incredible—I’m still kind of like, ‘wow,” Mr, Morrow said.

Abraham Zafra and Angelica Zafra at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Jan. 27, 2026. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times) — Abraham Zafra and Angelica Zafra at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Jan. 27, 2026. Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times

Abraham Zafra and Angelica Zafra were also in the audience this evening.

“I love the colors, I love the culture. They’re flawless. They’re floating in air when they did all the acrobatics … it was amazing. It was wonderful. We had a great time,” said Mr. Zafra, a concrete contractor.

Ms. Zafra commented that positivity seen in Shen Yun is something today’s society needs.

“I think with everything that is going on in the world, I am so happy that there’s performers that are out there just giving such a positive message in such a needed time. So, we’re very thankful for that,” she said.

With 5,000 years of history and literature to draw from, Shen Yun is able to put on an all-new production every year.

“Traveling the world. [Shen Yun] started from 2006 and it just expanded for over 20 years to keep it going. It says a lot. Being a person that [relies on] word of mouth. It’s important that you do a great job because people will keep coming back,” Mr. Zafra shared.

Reporting by NTD, Linda Jiang, and Maria Han.

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