‘It’s Important to Keep the Tradition Going’, Says Native American Indian at Shen Yun

Feb 19, 2026Shen Yun

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Rick Oropez was excited to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum on February 15.

Mr. Oropez, an Apache Native American Indian, said, “It’s important to keep the tradition going because once we forget or it’s not taught, then it gets lost. I always reach out to my elders and try to learn, have them tell me stories, and let me know.”

He said that the message that Shen Yun shares from China’s traditional culture is very relevant for modern society and to pass to the next generation.

“It’s very important that they’re doing this because a lot of people nowadays are forgetting a lot of things, especially the newer generation, forgetting the old ways.

“The old ways teach you a lot of good things about life, about the culture, and about the history of their culture. Without it, you’re going to get lost in the future. Modernization is taking over too much, and we’re forgetting the simple little things that really show that we are human, and our culture,” Mr. Oropez said.

“[Shen Yun] can teach us we can do anything that we really feel like we have to do,” Mr. Oropez said. “I feel that that’s a good learning tool for other people to see that, if you really put your heart in your work and determination on something, you can make it happen.”

Mr. Oropez said he has always wanted to see Shen Yun, especially since he moved to Tennessee.

“It was something that I really wanted to see because of all the skill and the techniques that are being shown. It takes a lot of training to do what they’re doing and synchronization for that.”

Shen Yun presents stories from 5,000 years of traditional Chinese civilization before communism.

Mr. Oropez said, “I like the stories. They’re very fascinating, and very interesting that it was for real. You know, in true life it happened. I can see something that shows and illustrates exactly how it was.”

The dancing and music entranced Mr. Oropez. “The music fit the characters that were up there dancing. The dancing was just remarkable. They were all synchronized. You could see it. It blended like a school of fish or school of birds just moving together in unison without any error whatsoever.”

Many people have noted that Shen Yun was a heavenly experience for them, and Mr. Oropez agreed.

A manager at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Laboratory, Mr. Oropez said, “The performance is awesome. A lot of energy. The acrobatics are great. The music was awesome. The graphics that you see blending with the actual people performing coming out from the sky and coming down was marvelous. It was really good.”

Mr. Oropez offered words of encouragement to the performers. “Keep up the good work and stay healthy because I know it takes a lot of work on their body. It takes a lot of endurance, a lot of stamina,” he said.

Reporting by Sally Sun and Yvonne Marcotte.

From The Epoch Times

NTD is a media sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts, covering audience reactions since 2006.