DALLAS, Texas—Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to the Eisemann Center for their first performance of the 2026 season.
David Moore, a retired marketing director, and his wife Daisy, a dentist, saw New York-based Shen Yun for the first time during the matinee performance on Jan. 3, 2026.
“The performers were amazing … the dance choreography was unbelievably good,” Mr. Moore said. He was also amazed by the Shen Yun Orchestra.
Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. The company features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends Eastern and Western sounds. Ancient Chinese instruments, such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa, lead the melody and are supported by the full sound of a Western orchestra.
Originally from Hong Kong, Mrs. Moore appreciated the story-based dances that brought to life stories from ancient times to the present day.
“They’re very synchronized … and each story reminds me a lot of the childhood stories that I heard,” she said.
Regarding Shen Yun’s mission to revive “China before communism,” she said, “It’s a privilege to be able to see something like that.”
China’s authentic culture is inseparable from its spiritual heritage—where a pantheon of divine beings, spiritual cultivators, and mythology shaped the culture for 5,000 years, according to the company’s website.
“Here in the states, every time we think about China, we think about communism … and we kind of associate that,” Mr. Moore said. “We don’t often think about or know what [China] was like before, so that’s why it was so important to see this.”
“Traditional values are what’s important, and [faith] there is a Creator [who] actually is creating something for us … that’s an important message,” he added.
Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances telling of the modern-day persecution of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, a meditation and spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution against the practice in 1999, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.
Mr. Moore thought that presenting sensitive issues beautifully through the arts was “a good way to get the message across.”
“To see it put out in arts like this makes it a lot more interesting; It makes it more real to me,” he said.
‘I Feel Uplifted’
T. McCole and his wife, Amy, at the Eisemann Center in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 3, 2026. Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times
T. McCole, a lawyer, and his wife, Amy, a dental hygienist, both attended the Shen Yun matinee performance at the Eisemann Center on Jan. 3, 2026.
“I feel uplifted. I feel happy,” Mrs. McCole said.
“I was very entertained. I just came in not knowing much about it,” she said. “The dancers, they were so elegant that they came across as light, like they were floating all the time. It was wonderful to see.”
Mr. McCole enjoyed the company’s patented method of integrating a 3D animated backdrop with the stage performance. It allowed the performers to remarkably travel back and forth between the stage and the background projection.
The McColes were both impressed with how spiritual ancient Chinese culture was and commended the performers for keeping the spiritual traditions alive today.
“They persevered through communism and … they’re still bringing their culture and dance to others,” Mrs. McCole said.
“Job well done,” she relayed to the performers. “Your training and your dedication really came through in that performance.”
Reporting by Frank Liang, Sherry Dong, and Jennifer Schneider.
