SYDNEY, Australia—As Shen Yun Performing Arts continues its celebrated 2022 run of shows in Australia, the beauty and traditional culture on display gave audience members a true experience of “China before communism.”

Sarah Wilks, an apprentice jewellery designer, said the show opened her eyes to what communism has destroyed in China.

Watching Shen Yun present authentic Chinese culture left Ms. Wilks wondering about “what Chairman Mao destroyed.”

“It is very, very different from what I’ve been told [about] it my whole life growing up as a Western person ... I’ve got many friends from China. It’s just it’s eye-opening to see this,” she said.

“I think it’s very important; it’s important that traditional cultures aren’t lost and that they’re kept alive so that we can enjoy their beauty forever,” Jessica said.

Jessica was moved by some of the spiritual aspects of the performance.

“I’m not a very spiritual person, but even watching it, I felt very moved and very interested, and I could really feel the joy and the depth of feeling in the performances,” she said. “And that I could really feel the spiritual aspect, so I enjoyed that.”

Both women also noted that they were stunned and moved by the dance “Plum Blossoms,” with Sarah noting that she would be taking inspiration from the show for her own work.

“I’m actually very interested in some of the Chinese aesthetic, ” she said.

“And I’m hoping to incorporate some of that into some earrings that I’m planning. I will be incorporating that wheel motif of petals into some jewellery in the future.”

“Everybody, please come and see this while it’s still here before it goes,” she said. “Come here and see it in Sydney if you live in Sydney and save yourself going to Melbourne because it’s really worth seeing.”