Shen Yun ‘Inspires the Soul,’ Says Florida Theatergoer
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Hedwin Henao, Miriam Rebollar Pérez, and their son enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts on Feb. 7, 2026. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Medical physicist Miriam Rebollar Pérez and her husband, Hedwin Henao, an aviation training manager, brought their son to Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening show on Feb. 7, at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts.
The couple’s goal was to introduce him to traditional Chinese culture, which he has recently begun learning about in school. They were delighted to find that not only did their son enjoy the performance, but that Shen Yun was both educational and deeply inspiring.
“We wanted to bring him here for the education,” Mr. Henao said. “I think any exposure to different cultures will help him grow as an individual, and he loved it. …There’s a lot of history. A lot of beautiful culture.”
The production is comprised of a series of short pieces that takes its audience on a ride through the dynasties and across the vast regions of China. Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun tells tales from ancient times to the modern day.
Mr. Henao was especially impressed by how much beauty and cultural depth the artists conveyed through dance, music, and creative arts. He felt the performance offered “great value and great, great aspirations.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.
For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.
The artists’ mission is to return to the world’s stage, the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.
For Ms. Pérez, the most moving aspect of the performance was its spiritual dimension. She found Shen Yun “very inspiring” and filled with “great values,” such as love and living in equilibrium with nature.
“[The culture] is very old and it’s admirable,” she said. The pieces spoke of “faith but also living in balance.”
Shen Yun is about “being in harmony with your own self, your body, and with the environment and the Earth. And [about] self-discipline and controlling [your] emotions. That’s what is admirable for me.”
Summing up the performance in one word, Mr. Henao said Shen Yun is “sensational.” “It was very, very inspiring,” he added. “It inspires the soul.”
