‘Impressed With Their Strength and Courage’: Shen Yun Inspires Jacksonville Audience With Its Mission
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Virginia Thomas and Kim Thomas at Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, Fla., to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts on Dec. 27, 2025. Linda Li/The Epoch Times
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—She had seen the signs and advertisements for years, but now Virginia Thomas finally arrived at the theater in Jacksonville to see dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts in person.
Ms. Thomas watched with her daughter, Kim, as the first half unfolded: an immersive scene from Heaven, complete with clouds billowing into the theater hall. Delicate female dancers with flowing “water sleeves” floated across the stage, followed by a lively ethnic dance segment, and a song sung by a tenor.
“I was impressed with their strength and courage to do what they are doing,” Virginia Thomas said.
After hearing the lyrics of the tenor, she understood something new. Shen Yun is not just entertainment; it’s on a mission.
Not only are the dances lively, but they’re also “raising awareness” about persecution in their ancestral homeland, she said. That explained why the company is made up of American-born Chinese and expats who fled to America. It explains why they’re based in New York, not China, and why their billboards read “China Before Communism.”
“I was in China about five years ago and had no idea,“ Kim Thomas said. ”I think that if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere, so bringing our awareness to what’s going on over there [is important because it] potentially could happen here."
Virginia Thomas said, “We always have to have hope.”
“Yes, the trap has been modernism and evolution that has pulled many people away from tradition and moral values,“ she said. ”But there’s still hope, because there are many people out there that still believe, still trust God.”
Shen Yun Gives Hope
The underlying passion that drives the dancers shines through in their every gesture and leap. This was obvious to Mark Sullivan, a health and life coach who also watched the show in Jacksonville.
“The inner strength supports the outer strength,“ he said, speaking of the retelling of a Chinese legend by Shen Yun that made him tear up. ”There’s such a discipline and a pride in all the performances.”
Health and life coach Mark Sullivan watched Shen Yun at Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts in Florida on Dec. 27, 2025. Roland Ree/The Epoch Times
He, too, had seen Shen Yun advertisements for years, and only now did he make it to the theater in person. He said that Shen Yun gives him hope that the young people seeing the performance show will be inspired by the dancers’ dedication to their art. “I’m sure that helps, the youth of today are so lost in identity,“ he said. ”[That inspiration is] a great thing.”
Jake Herbst, an industrial engineer, brought his kids and saw Shen Yun with his wife, Brittany. “It’s a lot different than what I’ve seen before,” he said.
He said their girls were mesmerized every time a new segment began. “Every time the women performed and they raised the curtains, our girls would gasp.”
Being an engineer, Mr. Herbst paid special attention to the technical aspects of the visual effects. Shen Yun’s patented 3D animated backdrop places audience members in ancient palaces, among the clouds, and even on the moon.
The seamless way the dancers interacted with the animated digital projectionsalso really made an impression, he said. “They nailed it perfectly."
Shen Yun’s Dancers Communicate Inner Feelings
It was a family affair for Santiago Ramos and his wife, Azlyn Alverio, and Ms. Alverio’s mother.
Ms. Alverio, an engineer and supply chain consultant, said Shen Yun’s storytelling impressed her the most. “It’s showing us all the different places, different cultures, and ethnicities, and the history of China a long time ago.”
Ms. Alverio enjoyed seeing the performers’ facial expressions that communicated their inner feelings. “The performance is really touching,” she said.
Mr. Ramos, who works for Toyota, said the costumes and colors impressed him.
“The colors, the contrast—everything is really, really beautiful,” Ms. Alverio said. “And the way they have the background, the way [the performers] come [onto the stage] from inside that transition; it really, really adds to the performance.”
Shen Yun features a patented integration of the performance on stage with scenes in an animated backdrop. This has been an audience favorite for many years.
Reporting by Linda Li, Roland Ree, Yvonne Marcotte, and Michael Wing.
