MESA, Ariz.—Eric and Carey Stanton watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center on the evening of Feb. 3, 2026. Amazed by the performance, they were really glad that they had done some research about the group before they came and realized that Shen Yun is a U.S. company.
“I wasn’t aware of it until we did research before we came,” Mr. Stanton, owner a media company, said.
“I thought they were actually from China until I started doing some research.” Mrs. Stanton added.
Founded in 2006 in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a world premier classical Chinese dance and music company with the mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, which is being destroyed in China. Mr. Stanton said, “It’s a very brave, very courageous mission.”
Mrs. Stanton learned that “everybody [in Shen Yun] is Chinese-American and they’re trying to bring back the history before communist China. So, I think that’s a wonderful message to bring back the ancient Chinese history through this show.”
Mr. Stanton was certain that “more people would come if they knew more about the mission and about the reasoning behind the show.”
Using the universal languages of dance and music, Shen Yun is presenting the beauty of China before communism. Mr. Stanton was very impressed, “The dance and just the precision, it’s mesmerizing. It’s unbelievable. It’s beautiful.” The Monkey King dance and the Manchurian “high heel” dance were among the stand out pieces. While Mrs. Stanton was intrigued by “the spinning where they put their hand on the floor and they twist and spin across the stage. I don’t know how they do that without getting so dizzy.”
Mrs. Stanton also enjoyed the interaction between the stage and the animated backdrop, “I think it’s amazing. I like how they jump from the screen onto the stage and back. It’s been really fun to watch.”
Shen Yun’s story-dances draw inspiration from ancient legends as well as modern-day heroic stories, depicting what’s happening in today’s China. Mr. Stanton thought that the performance was also very educational. “I like the way that they’ve made things authentic and based some of the scenes about real things that are happening in China. I think that’s educational. It’s nice to learn.”
