AUSTIN, Texas—After seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time, business owner Gary Pettitt described the experience as “beautifully thought out,” praising the depth of history and culture conveyed on stage.
“It tells a wonderful story of not only China’s
history … it tells a lot about the Chinese culture—some of it lost since the revolution,” Mr. Pettitt said.
On the evening of Jan. 2, Mr. Pettitt attended
Shen Yun’s opening performance of the 2026 season at The Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin with his friend Andy Ofson, a retired chief financial officer. Mr. Pettitt runs a furniture import business in Austin with more than 20 years of history, manufacturing indoor and outdoor furniture, lighting, and décor. His company has received the ARTS Awards from ART and the Dallas Market Center five times.
Reflecting on the production overall, Mr. Pettitt described the show as “very energetic, very polished,” and of a “very high standard,” adding that it contained “a lot of background and history.”
Having previously lived and worked in Hong Kong, Mr. Pettitt is familiar with Asian culture. He said the performance resonated deeply with him.
He said it conveyed the inner values and spiritual essence of
Chinese culture, and that he especially appreciated the program’s presentation of different ethnic styles and traditional art forms.
Mr. Pettitt also connected with the spiritual message conveyed through Shen Yun’s vocal performances. He said the lyrics spoke about “the influences of today versus those who follow traditional approaches, and living a good life. I think it’s a message that’s fairly uniform for most of the world.”
He was particularly moved by Shen Yun’s effort
to revive traditional Chinese culture and present a vision of “China before communism.” As a former resident who loved Hong Kong deeply, he reflected on how much Hong Kong has changed since the 1997 handover.
“It’s a shame—Hong Kong could have continued amazingly well, and it’s sad to see what has become of Hong Kong today,” Mr. Pettitt said.
Given his personal experience, Shen Yun’s
vivid portrayal of the stark contrast between modern China and its traditional civilization left a deep impression on Mr. Pettitt.
“I thought it was very powerful how they did the contrast of the spiritual, divine world with modern-day society,” he said. “I thought that was incredibly powerful … and it was a good thing to show.”
Mr. Ofson added that the performance provides valuable insight for those unfamiliar with China.
“The show is beautifully choreographed and beautifully well thought out,” he said. “I think it was well worth it, and I like them showing Americans the incredible richness and diversity of
Chinese culture.”
Reporting by Nancy Ma and Olivia Li.
