SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Classical Chinese Dancers of Shen Yun Send ‘A Great Message for Society’: Pittsburg Professor Says

Mar 22, 2026

3/22/2026Updated: 3/22/2026

PITTSBURGH, Pa.—After Kurt Larsen spent this Sunday afternoon watching a stage performance in a theater, he was taken aback by how strange today’s modern society felt compared to that of the much older culture depicted onstage.

A culture of kids taking selfies suddenly seemed self-absorbed, while being kind and aware of others felt right.

For over two hours, the artists of Shen Yun Performing Arts danced, showing scenes from China’s past and present. They shared history and fables to theatergoers at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts while Mr. Larsen, who teaches at Pittsburg University, was all ears.

“I think, especially nowadays, that we need to be thinking about others and less about ourselves,” he told The Epoch Times after the matinée. “That’s a great message for society.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun began a mission 20 years ago to revive the ancient values of China, which were “almost lost” during the country’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. Communism has tried to reshape culture by destroying norms, including religion, to strengthen its control over the people.

Mr. Larsen saw a spiritual message in Shen Yun: that all people were once divine. “I appreciated that idea of something greater than ourselves,” he said. “I’m a Christian, so this resonates with me and I feel that’s a powerful message.”

This was displayed most clearly as soon as the curtain opened. Smoke billows offstage as a light-soaked picture of heaven spills forth, and then the Creator appears, leading an army of deities to Earth to play as characters in China’s grand 5,000-year history. It’s a message that crosses the grain of what’s promoted in China by the officially atheist communist regime today.

That may be why Shen Yun and its presentation of “China before communism” is forbidden by the regime to perform in mainland China. Some in the audience felt it was shameful.

Mike Figliolia and his wife, Stephanie, attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 22, 2026. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times) — Mike Figliolia and his wife, Stephanie, attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 22, 2026. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times

“I think the arts need to be a part of the culture, and from what we are taught by communism, they’re not there,” Mike Figliolia, a supply chain company director, told The Epoch Times after watching the show. “And so people are missing a large part of their history and their culture.”

But the performance holds true to being upbeat and positive despite the challenges they face in China.

Many dance segments retold ancient myths with uplifting themes. There were heroes, such as the famed Monkey King, and elements that seemed magical, such as the fountain of youth in the form of a peach tree. Above all, there was the divine connecting everyone.

“I thought the little injection of comedy that was in there, it was really good. And it kind of broke it up a little bit,” Mr. Figliolia said. “I like when the one gentleman ate the peach—and turned into a baby.”

Rockel and Rick Ellis watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 22, 2026. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times) — Rockel and Rick Ellis watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 22, 2026. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times

Rockel Ellis, a nurse who watched the performance with her husband, Rick Ellis, felt a boost of vigor after seeing Shen Yun. The dancers overcoming persecution made her feel “like I can overcome anything,” she said.

“Very powerful,” Mrs. Ellis added. “There’s nothing that can touch artistry. Nothing.”

Reporting by Frank Liang and Michael Wing.

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