OTTAWA, Canada—Johanne Delves, vice president of private banking at the Royal Bank of Canada, said Shen Yun is “absolutely amazing” after seeing the company’s performance at the National Arts Centre on March 19.

“It’s our first time here. We’re very, very much enjoying it,” said Ms. Delves. “The experience has been amazing. The costumes are fabulous. The dancers are absolutely fantastic, and the orchestra has been very, very inspiring.”

“It’s so vibrant. The colors are absolutely amazing. The costume is fantastic. It’s very, very exhilarating,” Ms. Delves said. “ It was quite inspiring when they would jump off the back and then all of a sudden up on the screen, I couldn’t believe it was happening. And I nudged my husband, I’m like, ‘This is amazing, I can’t believe it.’”

“I walk away feeling that much more educated,” she said.

Ms. Delves said it’s important to know more about the culture to be able to “appreciate where we come from, where we are today, and where we really need to go tomorrow.”

“We’ve been really impressed. It’s beautiful, it’s breathtaking, really, with the colors and the stories behind the dances,” she said. “It’s really amazing. Really enjoyed it.”

“It was one of the things that I personally ... felt as I was watching, especially at the beginning, the feeling of hope, with the dancers, their beautiful dances,” she said.

“I love the fact that there’s a story behind each dance. It makes it more enjoyable in a way because you can understand through the dance what is happening or what is trying to be conveyed to the audience,” Ms. Allen said.

“I particularly liked [the one that] was ... about courage,” she said, referring to the piece “Plum Blossom in Spring.” As explained in the program book, in Chinese culture, “the plum blossom is a symbol of courage and resilience, braving winter and flourishing into spring.”

“I thought it was a beautiful dance, but also you could really understand that virtue coming through the storytelling,” she said.

“It’s nice to see that as well,” she said. “[It] comes through as a theme through most of the dances ... where there [are] stories about the creator and how that ... comes into our everyday lives, and is still relevant today.”

With “everything going on” lately, Ms. Allen said, it’s “heartwarming” to see this aspect of Shen Yun.

“It makes a person feel that they’re not alone, and there’s something bigger out there, something more important than what we see on the news, and what we live [through] in our everyday lives,” she said.