SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Moved Me to Tears,’ Says Arizona Theatergoer

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Shen Yun ‘Moved Me to Tears,’ Says Arizona Theatergoer
Stephen Prater and Shannon Sportsman enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tuscon, Ariz., on Feb. 10, 2024. Jane Yang/The Epoch Times

TUCSON, Ariz.—On Feb. 10, Shen Yun Performing Arts opened the second of its three consecutive performances at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.

Among the attendees were Stephen Prater, a health insurance broker, and Shannon Sportsman, a caregiver. This was their first time experiencing the show and they found it thoroughly enjoyable.

“It moved me to tears,” Ms. Sportsman said. “The colors were beautiful. The girls with the orange and yellow dresses and the long sleeves—it looked like they were dancing fire. They were so graceful.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun artists are highly trained in classical Chinese dance. Dating back thousands of years, it is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms in the world. At Shen Yun, it is performed in its purest form—the way it was originally passed down through the generations.

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The mission of Shen Yun artists is to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

Mr. Prater thought this message came through loud and clear in the performance.

“They displayed it perfectly. In America, we’d better watch it. We need to prevent communism [from entering,]” he said, adding that seeing it onstage was “overwhelming and humbling.”

Ms. Sportsman chimed in that she, too, thought Shen Yun’s storyline dance depicting the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution of the people of faith in present-day China was overwhelming because it portrayed a scary reality.

“That it’s scary because you want to show your faith and beliefs and be true to who you are, but you’re living in fear,” Ms. Sportsman expressed.

“I see what the [Chinese people’s] traditions are—they value being humble and kind. I like how they place a value on certain morality, not only honoring family but staying faithful. That really spoke to me.”

Mr. Prater, on the other hand, really enjoyed the solo musical performance by the erhu—an ancient, two-stringed Chinese instrument capable of producing a wide range of emotions.

“I thought it was fabulous. I’ve always wanted to know what that instrument looked like,” he said. “It almost makes you cry to hear it.”

In addition to recommending the show to his friends and family, Mr. Prater would love to see more of Shen Yun in the future.

“The takeaway is I want to see part two,” he said.

Met with wide acclaim since its establishment in 2006, the company can be expected to return with a brand-new set of choreography and musical compositions every year.

Reporting by Jang Yang and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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