Shen Yun Performing Arts Is ‘Very Refreshing to Watch,’ Says Theatergoer in Houston
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Richard Dove and his wife, Janette Dove, attend Shen Yun at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston on Jan. 31, 2026. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
HOUSTON—The bright costumes of Shen Yun Performing Arts dancers made a big impression on theatergoers this Saturday afternoon, but the production’s unabashed spirituality and a two-stringed instrument called the erhu also stirred many comments in the theater after the show.
After an opening bow from the conductor of Shen Yun’s symphony orchestra, a gong rang, and the curtain rose. The show began on a spiritual note with the Chinese myth of creation.
“I like the storyline that human beings are divine in origin,” said Richard Dove, a retired policeman who saw Shen Yun at Jones Hall, and who spoke to The Epoch Times afterward. The Creator “had all his followers going to populate the Earth, which to me was symbolic of creation in Christianity, of when the heavenly father peopled the Earth with people.”
Dove’s wife, Janette, a retired nurse who accompanied him, added, “It was delightful for us. Absolutely loved it!” She said the color kept her “very interested and very engaged.”
Now in its 20th year, the New York-based classical Chinese dance company strives to display beauty while also uplifting cultural morals. The values of ancient China were “almost destroyed” under communism, the group says, so they aim to revive it through the universal medium of dance.
“The way [Shen Yun] tied spirituality into the struggle of man—with present-day problems and the evolution of the spirit with those struggles—through dance and song, it was very refreshing to watch,” Mr. Dove said.
Larry Soblotne and his wife, Elizabeth Soblotne, attend Shen Yun at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston on Jan. 31, 2026. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
The lively production simply “overwhelmed” Larry Soblotne, who works in a power plant. He attended Shen Yun with his wife, Elizabeth.
“Overall, the expression that was presented, you could just see the raw emotion behind the performance,“ he told the newspaper. ”It just really brought it to life. It wasn’t like they were just up there going through the motions. It was like they were living the moment.”
Many of the dancers of Shen Yun, who are based in upstate New York, follow the tenants of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that is banned in the officially atheist mainland China. Some were even persecuted for their faith and fled to America. This explains their passion for presenting Chinese culture in a spiritual light, and also why Shen Yun is banned from mainland China.
All this passion was conveyed to theatergoers on Saturday.
“The message was clear. There were no minced words,” Mr. Soblotne said: “the oppression that the communist regime has presented to the Chinese people and their efforts to fight through that and retain their culture and their individuality and their expressionism and just their culture in general.”
But besides the weighty message, there was music unlike any other kind.
Shen Yun’s full orchestra blends Western and Chinese instruments into one to produce a unique sound. Its soloists even play instruments some showgoers have never heard of.
“I don’t know what the name of the one instrument was with the [two] strings, but that blew me away,” Mr. Soblotne said, speaking of the ancient Chinese erhu.
Dan Droogliever stands inside the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston after watching Shen Yun on Jan. 31, 2026. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
Even showgoers as well-traveled as Dan Droogliever, a retired cargo ship’s captain who’s sailed “all over the world,” called the erhu “almost my highlight” of the entire performance.
“That was impressive,” he said. “One of the beliefs, of course, in the Chinese culture is that music can be a good medicine.”
Randal Utech and his wife, Nancy Utech, attend Shen Yun at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston on Jan. 31, 2026. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
While Shen Yun has toured to Houston for many years, and some locals have attended half a dozen times or more, this was Nancy Utech and her husband, Randal’s, first show. Shen Yun’s spiritual message made a big impression.
“We’re both very religious,” said Mr. Utech, a retired geochemist. “The idea of the Creator or something from heaven, that kind of communication, that’s very touching. That’s very close to our heart. It’s a little bit different [in Shen Yun]. We may be slightly different in how we believe that, but that spirituality is very important to us.”
Overall, Mr. Utech said he loved the music and Shen Yun’s retelling of ancient Chinese culture.
“Very beautiful, very enlightening,” he said. “I thought the storyline and the insight to being creatures of heaven on earth was very interesting.”
Reporting by Sally Sun, Sonia Wu, and Michael Wing.
