ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Company vice president John Poole had previously seen Shen Yun Performing Arts while living in New Jersey and enjoyed it so much that on Feb. 7, he brought his newly engaged fiancée, Lena Matveeva, to experience Shen Yun’s penultimate performance at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts.
“It was wonderful. We loved it,” said Mr. Poole. “I think the Chinese dance is amazing. After seeing it in New Jersey, I had to see it again down here before it left town.”
Ms. Matveeva also had a great time. “I actually love it,” she said. “This is first time I visited Shen Yun, but I love it. I’m really in love, it’s beautiful.”
Mr. Poole was particularly moved by the artists’ dedication to upholding freedom of expression.
This performance “could not be done in China,“ he said. ”They had to do it in a country that allows freedom of expression. It makes me grateful to be here, in a country that allows freedom of expression, freedom to see something like this.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company dedicated to reviving China’s rich culture, nearly lost under decades of communist rule. Its performances feature a series of short dances highlighting various regions of China, as well as solo musical pieces.
However, due to the artists’ commitment to presenting the truth of events under communist rule, it is currently banned by the ruling regime from performing in China.
Mr. Poole loved the company’s incorporation of the divine into the performance. He believes that “there’s a divine providence that everyone has to answer to” and Shen Yun encourages us “to be open-minded to it and listen when it knocks on your door.”
Reflecting on how he understood the final story-dance, Mr. Poole said, “It spoke to me.”
“It was very emotional,” he said. “Everybody has the choice to accept or reject a divine providence.”
“Stay open-minded when the spirit knocks on your door and be open-minded to the world; be open-minded to people. Don’t persecute others because of what they believe in, and accept people for who they are,” he said.
During its 2026 touring season, Shen Yun’s eight equally sized companies will perform in more than 200 cities across five continents. Widely acclaimed since its founding in 2006, the artists return each year with a brand-new program of choreography and original musical compositions.
