SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Consultants Say Shen Yun’s ‘Incredible Talent’ Brings Chinese Culture to Life

May 11, 2025

5/11/2025Updated: 5/11/2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—When Ethan and Kathleen Schwaber saw that Shen Yun Performing Arts would be coming to Nashville, they decided it was the perfect way to celebrate their anniversary.

“It’s something so unique I’ve never seen before,” said Mr. Schwaber, who heads a project management consultancy with his wife. They had heard many good things about the performance, he said, and had great expectations. “We were like, ‘We need to go.’ We’re actually celebrating our anniversary as well. So, we’re like, this is the perfect way to celebrate, to see such amazing talent.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Mr. Schwaber said the artists really did bring that culture to life.

“Not only just connecting emotionally with what’s going on, but I was just thinking, it must have been so much effort, bringing this all together as well. Like the talent—every one of those people on stage just seemed like so full of talent—but in the music, the choreography, the storytelling. And so, I really appreciate all that coming together,” he said.

“It’s graceful and the colors are beautiful and it just ... it’s very moving,” Mrs. Schwaber said.

Before the performance began, she looked through the program book and discovered that Shen Yun had a patent on their digital backdrop technology.

“I was like: what are they going to do?” she said. And then the performance began, and Mrs. Schwaber was fascinated with how the backdrop was used interactively with the artists, connecting the stories and dramatics.

“I’ve been really impressed with what the orchestra can do to connect to the pieces. And you do pick up the Eastern and the Western sounds in it, which is really nice,” she added.

The music impressed Mr. Schwaber as well, and all the more so since he was classically trained in piano.

“I appreciate good pianists, good singing, and good music. I really appreciate that as well,” he said.

He said that overall, he was “just amazed.”

“The talent, the music, just everything kind of comes together. And bringing pieces of something that I’m not as familiar with, like the whole Chinese historical, like the culture, some of these stories, and everything. So, I just love the way it’s brought to life,“ he said. ”Incredible talent all around.”

Reporting by Roland Ree and Catherine Yang.

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