MADISON, Wis.—“I really like [Shen Yun Performing Arts] because everything is ornate, and you can never replicate it unless you join Shen Yun or something, and it’s really cool,” said 9-year-old Meilon.

She, her brother Kai, and her mother and father Dana and Bob Craven, attended the classical music and dance performance, on April 10, at the Overture Center for the Arts.

Meilon is right. Shen Yun cannot be replicated (unless you join the company) because the company is unique in many ways. It is the only performing arts company in the world with the aim of revitalizing China’s 5,000 years of civilization, both its arts and its values.

It is also, the only company that boasts a permanent orchestra comprised of both Western and Eastern instruments, according to its website.

“It’s beautiful. It’s our second time,” Mr. Craven said. Mr. Craven is a physicist and currently the senior manager of System Analytics for Accuray. He also is the founder and owner of Dig Labs.

“So this year we brought the kids, and we weren’t sure how the kids would do with a long performance like this, but they have been just captivated!” Mrs. Craven explained.

“We were born in China,” Meilon said about her and her brother.

Mrs. Craven was interested to learn just how old classical Chinese dance is. “It’s been an amazing performance. The colors and the vibrancy of the dances, and it’s so nice to have a history book too,” she said, referring to the dances that depict different dynasties of China.

“Every different song tells a story, a beautiful story,” Mrs. Craven pointed out.

“I love the vivid colors,” Mr. Craven said about the costumes and backdrops.

“And I really, really liked the songs,” Meilon said of the classical trained vocalists who sing in Chinese.

Mrs. Craven felt the couple had gained a deeper appreciation for Chinese culture and that its spirituality “adds meaningfulness to the program.”

She would encourage her friends to come to the show and bring their children because they would enjoy it.

“Uh huh, and they would,” Meilon agreed, but warned that “they have to look into every detail to notice the beauty in it and notice the awesomeness.”

“I am 9, I’m old; he’s 7,” she said.

“I am 8,” Kai said.

“Almost 8. He’s 7,” Meilon said.

Reporting by Catherine Wen and Sharon Kilarski

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.