“I decorated my whole house. I had beautiful silk robes for [my friend and myself]. I made the best … Chinese food. We had a whole theme rolling out today. This has been long-awaited so we took a whole day and did a pre-celebration, and it is a high! When you expect something for so long and then you finally see it, sometimes it can be disappointing. But this has been lovely.

“I just love [everything]. And I think, during a time like this when the economy is tough and there’s inflation and a lot of people are having hard times, seeing something like [Shen Yun] is very inspirational and beautiful, and just gives a little pep in the step for us everyday people,” Ms. Ochoa said.

Ms. Ochoa particularly enjoyed the spiritual themes shared by Shen Yun.

“And whenever the clouds lift in the screen and you go to Heaven, it almost made me cry,” she said, describing a scene in one of the dances. “It is just wonderful and warm, and there needs to be more of that in our world [for] people with open minds that can absorb it in a proper way.”

The ancient Chinese believed that there was a time when heavenly deities and earthly mortals once co-existed peacefully on earth and that the Chinese people were the recipients of a divine culture.

“I really enjoyed the dancing and especially the orchestra,” he said. Mr. Garcia enjoys listening to Chinese instruments and is a collector of records of Asian music.

“The way it was choreographed and the way the music was played in just perfect timing ... it was excellent,” he said.

“I learned a lot. I saw the symbolism—communism and the freedom of the people, the people’s freedom to practice their religion or spirituality ... that was a struggle, I could see that,” he said.

He had also learnt how old Chinese culture is. “And they keep those traditions strong while other cultures’ traditions fade away, especially when they come to the United States. But the Chinese culture I saw today was very exciting.”