‘Very Courageous’: Shen Yun Impresses Houston Theatergoers With Artistic Aspirations
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David and Carol Lee attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the CFISD Visual and Performing Arts Center in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 13, 2026. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
HOUSTON—For two-and-a-half hours this evening, David Lee, a former lieutenant colonel for the U.S. Marine Corps, watched dozens of exquisitely costumed dancers onstage. Some seemed as delicate as flowers and others as strong as acrobats as they recreated ancient lost worlds inside the CFISD Visual and Performing Arts Center.
Watching New York-based dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts, what caught Lee’s attention the most was the opening scene: as the curtains rose, a window into the Chinese heavens opened up. Amidst dancing deities stood the Creator, who led the divine multitude down to Earth, in spectacular fashion, to kick off human history in the Middle Kingdom.
Like many Westerners who have seen Shen Yun here in Houston and numerous other cities, Mr. Lee embraced the universal spiritual message shared in the performance celebrating Chinese culture—despite his different background and beliefs.
“Everybody around the world seems to know there is a Creator. He is returning. And it’s important that they identify who that Creator is,” Mr. Lee told The Epoch Times during the intermission. “We’re born-again Christians, so we’re always thinking about the return of Jesus.”
Spirituality is displayed prominently in Shen Yun’s program of ancient myths that follow Chinese history from the ancient past to the present day. Touring the world for 20 years, the company aims to revive a culture that was “almost lost” under the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
But it was also impossible for Mr. Lee to miss Shen Yun’s use of state-of-the-art special effects. Wearing ancient clothing, the dancers move magically between an animated world on screen, depicting everything from mist-shrouded mountains to ancient palaces and even under the sea, and on the stage. It was “really unique” how the dancers instantly popped off the stage and onto the screen to enact flying scenes, he said.
Mr. Lee’s wife, Carol, who watched by his side, told the newspaper how she felt about the artists’ courage in their endeavors in presenting China’s spiritual traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
“It’s very courageous, I think, in a lot of ways,” she said. “I love the show. I just feel that it’s just inspirational.”
William and Jenny Gavranovic attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the CFISD Visual and Performing Arts Center in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 13, 2026. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
For William and Jenny Gavranovic, who own a family farming business, attending the same show on Friday, Shen Yun was a fantastical history lesson. “It’s good for us to learn different cultures and bring new ideas,” Mr. Gavranovic said. It was also good to see “how the Chinese culture has developed over time,” he added.
It was the exquisite costumes of the heavenly ladies that appealed the most to Mrs. Gavranovic, who noted the segment “Water Sleeves” that displays choreographed ancient beauties who seem to float and flow across the stage as lightly as air. “Oh my goodness, they’re so beautiful and colorful,” she said.
The cultural reclamation from communism was inescapable in Mr. Gavranovic’s observation. “The communism part,” he said, “that’s kind of moving to learn how things are.” The modern-day segment in Shen Yun openly portrays religious persecution against Falun Gong believers under the CCP.
“It’s good to show what goes on in different countries,” Mr. Gavranovic said. “It’s a learning experience.”
“As well as just visually very beautiful,” Mrs. Gavranovic added.
