SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Makes Us Realize ‘We’re Much More Alike Than Different’

Mar 22, 2026

3/22/2026Updated: 3/22/2026

PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Some people see Shen Yun Performing Arts and realize that culture is only a surface level difference among people. Bob Wachob, who saw the classical Chinese music and dance company perform at the Benedum Center on March 22 felt just that way.

“I think it’s a really good exposure to culture, I really do,” said the IT director who has his own contracting business.

“[The] costumes are fantastic. The lighting is fantastic. The whole storyline has been very easy to follow,” he said.

Through the universal language of dance and music, Shen Yun brings ancient legends and modern times to life on stage, taking the audience on a journey of 5,000 years.

Based in New York because it is barred in China, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its mission is to revive China’s traditional culture and present the beauty of “China before communism.”

For Mr. Wachob, seeing the traditional culture onstage—values such as compassion and kindness, and the belief that good people will ultimately be rewarded—showed him something about humanity as a whole.

“I think it makes all of us realize that we’re much more alike than different. [The traditional Chinese] obviously have compassion for their families, love for their families. They respect their communities, and … there’s very little differencefalues of propagated by the CCP today, one of the 20 dance-dramas tells the story of an ongoing per when it comes right down to it.”

“It’s very informative, it really is,” he said.

All of ancient China operated on a system of virtue. For example, its rulers required that officials to be well-versed in virtue and moral discipline. In fact, officials were awarded posts based on exams that tested the applicants’ character. As it was in heaven, so it was on earth. For this reason, traditional culture was considered semi-divine.

Mr. Wachob believes that a renaissance of this culture is a great idea.

“I think it’s unfortunate that a show like this that is all about Chinese culture cannot be shown in China. And that’s an unfortunate thing. Hopefully, we'll someday get back to the point where people can enjoy the history and the culture that they come from and not be stopped from [seeing] all of the past experiences.”

For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has sought to eradicate traditional Chinese culture, one deeply rooted in Buddhist and Taoist beliefs. The aim is to replace those beliefs with Marxist-atheist ideology based on a principle of class struggle: “fight with heaven, fight with earth, fight with each other.”

To make the distinction between traditional Chinese values and the values propagated by the CCP today, one of the 20 dance-dramas tells the story of an ongoing persecution. A man of faith is blinded due to the regime’s brutality. Yet belief in the divine restores the man’s sight.

Mr. Wachob felt that this dance also demonstrated “that we all have so much in common. I mean, I’m a Christian. I believe in God, … [Shen Yun shows] we still all believe in a higher being. We all believe in a higher cause.”

“So … I found it very, very fulfilling. It really was. And miracles happen in all cultures.”

In sum, he felt uplifted by the experience. “Absolutely. Absolutely.”

Reporting by Lily Sun and Sharon Kilarski.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.