Jose Cuevas, President of Wisdom Investment, felt Shen Yun connected with him on many levels. “The entire story was fascinating. Well written, put together so well, and I could connect with it as a human being, on a spiritual level, on a personal level,” he said.
Joseph Roudez III, mayor of University Park—the city that hosted Shen Yun—attended the performance for the second time. “It is the classic theatrics that you can never see anywhere else. The storyline is phenomenal. The colors are so brilliant, and an array of special effects [that] some must see,” he said.
Greg Snider, vice president of the Aspen Group, an architecture firm, was equally impressed. “We've been to so many shows, but this has such a unique story to it, and just such unique dancing, incredible music. It's just a wonderful show,” he said.
Jim Klug, a retired vice president who attended with his wife, commented: “It was very exceptional. It was wonderfully performed and wonderfully choreographed, and it used a great combination of old-school and new-school technology.”
Snider noted: “They do a great job of the story comes through the dance, the story comes through the music and even the backgrounds. And just a really beautiful show.”
Cuevas echoed that statement: “The way it's written, how it was connected, how the people performed it, the exuberance, the exhilaration I experienced, the joy on the dancers' and actors' faces, was absolutely wonderful.”
Bob Smith, a landlord who attended with his wife, reflected: “The stories are surprising, simple but perhaps timeless, stories; hope, yeah, and stories of love that I just wasn't expecting. I was expecting dance, but it was really nice to see what came along with it.”
The audience was especially moved by Shen Yun’s unique musical approach, which blends traditional Chinese instruments with a Western orchestra to enhance the narrative experience.
Theresa Easterday, owner of Little Italy restaurant, brought her three kids to see Shen Yun. "Oh my gosh, it was amazing, much more layered than I thought it would be. I particularly liked the pieces with the musical instruments and the tenors. I did not know that there would be solo tenor singing. That was amazing,” she said.
Klug was also impressed by the musical performance: “The orchestra was great, too, fabulous. Especially loved the one number where there was a trombone, had a significant part of Wan, and it helped tell the story.”
Roudez added: “The orchestra was phenomenal. We were right in front of it, so it was phenomenal just to see the old, historic instruments being used.”
Attendees strongly recommended Shen Yun as a unique and enriching cultural experience, noting that the program changes annually, making each year’s performance a fresh encounter.
Easterday encouraged others to attend: “Oh my gosh, go. Go. It's two hours and it was really like a good way to spend your time. So I would say, if you're considering going to this or a movie, come on over to Shen Yun. It was really awesome.”
Klug agreed: “It's very unusual but very rewarding, worthwhile to come.”
Roudez concluded: “If you have not seen the show, go see it. Even if you have seen the show, it changes every year. Don't cheat yourself of the opportunity to see Chinese history at its finest, classical theatrics at its best.”
