SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Portland Theatergoer Thinks Shen Yun Is ‘Amazing’

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Portland Theatergoer Thinks Shen Yun Is ‘Amazing’
Becky Miller and Jeff Miller attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Keller Auditorium on April 19, 2026. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times
Epoch Newsroom
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PORTLAND, Ore.—Jeff Miller and Becky Miller saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on April 19, 2026, at Keller Auditorium.

“It’s an amazing show. It’s great to see Chinese culture displayed in this way, and the dancing is phenomenal. It’s a type of dancing I’ve not seen in American-style dance and ballet,” said Mr. Miller, a software engineer and architect.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“From a technical point of view, the choreography is so tightly orchestrated. Everybody is in sequence, and that’s very impressive when you have multiple people in the same place. Everyone is at the same moment doing the same thing,” Mr. Miller said.

Shen Yun’s website states that Classical Chinese dance training includes three main components—technical skill, form, and bearing —which is one of the many ways classical Chinese dance differs from ballet.

“I was amazed at the athleticism and the warmth of the performers,” said Ms. Miller, Mr. Miller’s wife.

She added that she could feel the artists’ genuine kindness.

“I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was very moving,” she said.

Chinese literature, along with Chinese history and legend, is a rich source of inspiration for Shen Yun.

Mr. Miller was impressed with the story adapted from the classic text, “Journey to the West,” as well as the story depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China, “The Steadfast Heart.”

Shen Yun’s singers are trained in bel canto technique, and the digital backdrop provides a translation of the Chinese text being sung.

“The opera style singing—about kind of how when we let go of yesterday,—I thought it was a very good message,” Mr. Miller said.

The couple was moved to see Shen Yun’s message about the importance of faith and belief in the divine.

“We see some of the younger generations moving away from the traditional values that we grew up with. And don’t we see their lives getting worse the more they move away [from] spiritualism? It brings out the worst in people sometimes, so that resonated very closely,” Mr. Miller said.

Reporting by Jane Yang and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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