NEWARK, N.J.—Few people today would disagree that the world is changing fast, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang onto the best of the past.
For the New York dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts, that means reviving tradition and values, two treasures of ancient China that were nearly snuffed out during the communists’ cultural revolution in the 1960s. For the past 20 years, Shen Yun and its artists have striven to bring back “China before communism,” a culture that was “almost lost.”
“I think in a lot of ways, we live in difficult times, and I think the message [of Shen Yun] is one of hope and spirituality and tradition, and I think that’s very important,” Patrick Mottola, an attorney who watched Shen Yun at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Saturday, told The Epoch Times in the theater.
“Particularly, there are a lot of oppressive regimes in the world,” he said. “And I think that the human spirit aligned with God is a message that we all need to hear and be reminded of.”
Faith was among the main targets to fall on the chopping block under communism. But now Shen Yun’s performances are reminding the world of China’s tradition of spirituality by retelling, through dance, ancient tales like the Chinese myth of creation. The theme that all people are tied to the divine runs like a thread throughout the program; divine justice always overcomes persecution.
“This is my third time seeing the show, and it’s different every year, so that’s why I came,” Mr. Mottola said. “I love the colors and all the talented dancers and the energy and the very positive message. I love the music. It’s a very uplifting experience.”
Ali Noor attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 2, 2026. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
From the moment the curtain rises, a calm descends as spectacular colors brighten the theater, and Shen Yun’s elegant Chinese instruments begin to weave a harmony alongside classical Western instruments. The tales instill morals that still feel relevant today—morals like kindness and doing good things for other people.
“I think they’re doing an incredible job, really showcasing Chinese culture and traditional things so they’re not lost in history,” Ali Noor, a tennis coach who watched the same performance on Saturday, said. “It is still relevant this time. I think it’s even more important now.”
The ways of the past get “lost in translation” or are “not passed down,” he added. “I feel like the more we know, the better off we are and the better off society is.”
Religious tolerance is another tradition that speaks loudly in Shen Yun. Many of the artists practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual belief system that is banned in mainland China today, while some have even faced persecution in their homeland and fled to America. They banded together and formed Shen Yun in upstate New York, where the company now trains classical Chinese dancers at the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts.
Jose Catano (L) and family enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 2, 2026. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
“I thought it was very amazing, especially the way they dance, how they jump, how flexible they are, and how much they express what they [were] trying to show to us,” Jose Catano, a civil engineer, told The Epoch Times. “I love the music, it was live. And what I thought was amazing was the background, how they jump, and then it switches,” he said.
He was talking of Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop that seamlessly interacts with the characters onstage. Mythical heroes like the Monkey King seem to fly from the stage into the heavens as if by magic. The special effects also allow the audience to be transported from misty mountains to ancient palaces.
Today, Shen Yun was a birthday gift for his son, Mr. Catano said.
“Art is amazing because, first of all, they keep telling stories about history, [and] I’m coming for a different background because I’m Hispanic,” he said. “I love where you open [your culture] to us and let us see how beautiful your country is.”
