KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Sitting among the delighted crowd at the Tennessee Theatre on the evening of Jan. 7 was Sabrina Seamon, a native of Memphis. She was attending her first Shen Yun performance.

Ms. Seamon is currently a social worker for Clinch-Powell RC&D Council, a nonprofit Community Housing Development Organization located in rural East Tennessee.

But this evening, she took a break from her work and allowed herself to be whisked her away to reveries of her art days. Ms. Seamon has an associates degree in art with a specialization in painting.

“I love it,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful.”

Shen Yun Performing Arts performs classical Chinese dance throughout the United States and around the globe.

Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who gathered in New York with the wish to revive classical Chinese dance.

“I’m amazed at how they are able to move so fluidly in those very elaborate costumes,” Ms. Seamon said.

Shen Yun costumes are varied and colorful, ranging from imperial dragon robes to phoenix coronets to traditional Han clothing.

A major component of classical Chinese dance is storytelling—from tales of bygone heroes to celestial paradises. Each story has a deeper moral lesson embedded in it.

“It’s great,” she said. “You can really see the story being acted out.”

Ms. Seamon also said she was impressed with Shen Yun’s incorporation of high-tech digital backdrops.

“It’s different because you’re not used to seeing any kind of digital projection with classical dance,” she said.

Ms. Seamon also said she was taken aback by how well the music and the choreography complemented one another.

Each dance is accompanied by the Shen Yun Orchestra, which is unlike any other orchestra. It combines the best qualities of Western and Eastern music, such as the distinct flavor of the Chinese spirit with the grandeur of a Western symphony orchestra.

“I feel impressed more than anything,” she said. “It’s very impressive.”