LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Philip Sallee, owner of an investment firm, was for years on the board of the Louisville Ballet, and so has a great appreciation for classical dance of high caliber. What he saw on stage at Shen Yun Performing Arts was fantastic, Mr. Sallee said.

“Extremely talented, and diverse. Very diverse in talent. It’s a combination of grace and culture and athletic ability,” said Mr. Sallee, who attended the performance with his fiancée Ms. Drexler on Dec. 30 at the Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall. “And the choreography is fantastic.”

Through the music, Mr. Sallee felt “peace and joy.” Ms. Drexler felt it beautiful and calming, and that you could “relate to the dance through the music.”

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I’ll recommend [it to] anyone I know or don’t know, it’s a great evening, and it’s a learning experience.”

Also in the audience was Scott McCoy, who was grateful for Shen Yun’s efforts and said he encouraged everyone to see it.

“The show was wonderful, I think having the thousands of years of traditions presented to us in such a wonderful way was fantastic. And the technology that was involved in the backgrounds showing the artists going from live to the background sets—that was fun. And the storylines were just so interesting. The outfits were just wonderful, the colors, spectacular. We had a wonderful time,” said Mr. McCoy, who is co-owner and manager of an assisted living center.

“What I took away from it is the beauty of the culture and the beauty of the message of being closer to the Creator and finding ways to the divine. I think it reminds us all that we need to stop, think, listen, and look at the beauty around us every day,” he said.

“It’s very important to see a show like this,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy, not only in there but in the people that came to see it tonight, you could feel the energy among everybody who was here.”