Shen Yun ‘Gave Me New Life,’ Says West Palm Beach Audience Member

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—When we know of something amazing, we want to share it with our loved ones. Although it took persuasion, Joseph Kabbas, a business owner, was finally able to enjoy the beauty of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“Elegance, passion, love, discipline. Everything. Every possible adjective and adverb I could think of, I saw tonight,” Mr. Kabbas said.

“The amount of effort that went into these performances was phenomenal. And if I could, I would travel and enjoy it again and again. I would always come back.”

Five Year Wait

After waiting five years to see Shen Yun, Mr. Kabbas was going to come with his wife. Unfortunately, she got ill, but she still persuaded him to go and enjoy the performance.

“Because as I’m 76 and my health is not that great …  as human beings, we get sad and we feel depressed. When I watched what I saw tonight, it gave me new life. It made me feel good. It made me feel that there’s always hope because I’m still here,” Mr. Kabbas said.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance. Through rigorous training and rehearsals, the entire production to presented flawlessly.

“The professionalism that I saw this evening, coupled with the cultural aspects, was a perfect example of how modern life needs to learn this,” Mr. Kabbas said.

“It takes discipline and love and compassion for each other. You just can’t walk in and be perfect. You have to work at things. You have to develop things. It takes time. And in our culture, we don’t believe in that. We want it instantaneously.”

Shen Yun is dedicated to sharing 5,000 years of Chinese civilization with the world—a China before communism.

“Even as a Westerner, I can relate to what they spoke of because of the way they presented it. They presented it in a global fashion that any culture could relate to,” said Mr. Kabbas.

Unafraid to Speak of Tradition

Due to Shen Yun’s truthful depiction of present-day China, Shen Yun is unable to perform in China.

“I understand because I’ve read about this and that they cannot perform in China with the communists and the atheism and the concept of evolution. Where this, speaks of us as human beings, as divine. And we are. We have souls. We’re here to enjoy our lives and to help other people as well,” said Mr. Kabbas.

“They were not afraid to speak about tradition and love and discipline and joy and caring for each other. They were not afraid. And in our modern world, we’re afraid. Unfortunately,” he added.

Mr. Kabbas also shared his gratitude to Shen Yun for gifting him with inspiration.

“I thank them because as I sat there tonight, I became inspired again,” said Mr. Kabbas.

Reporting by Sally Sun and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.