SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘I Wish We’d Have Come Sooner,’ Says College Dean After Attending Shen Yun

Feb 21, 2026

2/21/2026Updated: 2/21/2026

INDIANAPOLIS—College administrator Paul Carlson and his wife, Theresa, a homemaker, have been looking forward to attending Shen Yun Performing Arts since they saw an advertisement.

They knew they were in for a treat. What they hadn’t expected, stepping into the matinee at the Butler Arts Center on Feb. 21, was that the performance would far exceed their expectations.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Mr. Carlson exclaimed. “They had so many things that I hadn’t expected, and it’s so wonderful. … The orchestra is fabulous.”

“I so appreciated the solo that we just heard speaking about our Creator and God, and I wasn’t expecting that. I have such a 1960s and 70s view of our Chinese brother, and I’m happy to be changing that opinion.”

As one of the world’s oldest civilizations, China’s 5,000 years of history are rich with breathtaking legends and time-honored traditions. Yet within just a few decades of the Chinese communists’ rise to power in 1949, much of this magnificent culture was destroyed.

The spread of atheism rapidly undermined belief in the divine, and the cherished virtues drawn from Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were swept away.

Today, New York–based Shen Yun is working to revive this lost civilization and to bring back, through dance and music, the beauty of China before communism.

Though Mrs. Carlson has heard about China’s dynasties in her youth, her understanding was vague. She was thrilled to finally gain a glimpse into the empire’s majestic, 5,000-year-old culture.

“When we were young, we heard about the dynasties in China, but then you never heard anything after a point because of the Communist Party,” she shared. “So, we are thrilled to see the beautiful traditions.”

Mrs. Carlson, a firm believer that God brings joy and beauty, felt Shen Yun reflected that truth.

She found it “very moving” that, beyond showcasing the splendor of Chinese history, the performance also raised awareness of ongoing human rights issues. She loved that the artists were sharing a “pure and simple faith that anyone could agree with.”

As an educator, Mr. Carlson said, “It’s wonderful to be able to shatter some of those biases I had.” He especially enjoyed the story-based dance transported the audience to present-day China, delivering a message that if people are willing to uphold traditional moral values and treat each other with kindness, the divine will aid us in times of trouble.

For him, Shen Yun was magical and, at the same time, very humbling. It encourages him to open up and express his faith more freely.

“It certainly is going to affect all these people that are here as well—to understand the real representation of the mystical ideas, the mystical pieces of it—but still falling in line with a higher power, a Creator, that we have affirmed for a long time. It’s wonderful to see,” Mr. Carlson expressed.

“We’ve been trying to defeat communism for so long. It’s such a massive beast, and we need to have all of us together on this. The Creator is going to help us.”

The couple felt such a sense of joy after attending the performance. “I wish we’d have come sooner,” Mr. Carlson said. They are already planning to return next year to continue supporting Shen Yun and to invite their friends and family to experience it as well.

Reporting by Charlie Lu and Jennifer Tseng.

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