“It touches the spirit—it’s beautiful. When I was listening and watching, it brought tears to my eyes,” he said.

“A lot of what we’re seeing here brings truth to my own religious belief about every human having a divine purpose and this production shows that,” he added.

The company’s website says this year’s theme is “China before communism.”

As a former missionary in Taiwan, Mr. McBride recalled a saying, “We learn to love those whom we serve, and learn to serve those whom we love.”

Shen Yun also shared one story-based dance depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong—a Chinese self-improvement practice rooted in the philosophies of Buddhism and Daoism, which it summarises in its teachings as the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Reflecting on the dance piece portraying the state-sanctioned crimes of forced organ harvesting from Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience in China, Mr. McBride said it was “symbolic of the resurrection.”

“It really touched my heart when she came back to life,” he said, “Justice and mercy were shown at the time—especially mercy.”

“If you believe in God and you have faith, He will help you. That is what the show is showing here,” he added. “Many people have forgotten that, and this is a reminder that these are truths, these are principles that never change.”