PHOENIX—On Saturday afternoon, Tina Brown felt a thread of emotion connecting her heart to the dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts as they retold Chinese spiritual tales onstage. Ms. Brown, a pastor and a ballroom gown seamstress, said the dance performances, at times, “nearly bring me to tears,” then turn around and plant “this vibrant smile on my face.”
“I find myself moved emotionally as the music changes, and some of it’s just so peaceful,” said Ms. Brown, speaking in Symphony Hall during the intermission.
Shen Yun weaves an artistic tapestry of classical Chinese dance and live orchestral music, blending Chinese and Western instruments. It uses this powerful combination to convey ancient myths and traditional dances. It includes themes of beauty and aspects of Chinese culture inspired by the divine.
The Divine—it’s a concept that was banished under communism during China’s Cultural Revolution. Based in New York, Shen Yun seeks to revive China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture from before communism, through classical Chinese dance and music.
As a reverend, Ms. Brown says the performance resonated with her spirituality.
“I recognize the divinity within the show and all that’s being presented to us,” she said. “I feel very divinely connected and inspired through the show.”
Throughout the program, the dancers brought the audience on a journey from the story of creation through ancient history to the present day. During the journey, the performance’s presenters told the audience that what they were seeing could not be seen in China because freedom was being suppressed there.
All this culminates in a dance segment depicting religious persecution in the present age, wherein a young Falun Gong practitioner is abused and blinded by communist officials.
Dolan Leveen attends Shen Yun at Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Ariz., on March 3, 2026. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times
Dolan Leveen, who works in real estate, was similarly touched by what he had witnessed at the performance. “I like the fact that they’re able to present their culture that they can’t present in their own country,“ he said. ”We’re very, very happy that we came.”
Mr. Leveen said the occasion was an anniversary celebration for him and his wife.
“The more we introduce different cultures to all the different diversities that we have in the audience, I think it brings us closer together as a people,” he said. “We all have a heart, we all have a mind, and we all have feelings. And I think if we can share those things for two hours, I think that’s great.”
Mr. Leveen—whose mother was a dancer, a Radio City Music Hall Rockette—thinks she would have loved the array of outfits and overall presentation of the arts. “If she was alive, she would have loved this show,” he added. “It was just fantastic.”
