ATLANTA—After 13 years of traveling the world to grand halls such as Lincoln Center and the Paris Opera House, and after growing to include seven touring companies, Shen Yun Performing Arts’ stunning colors have not diminished, not even slightly.

“The opening scene was stunning, the rolling smoke coming out of the orchestra pit and the colors are very vibrant,” Richard said.

“It was really a show of colors,” said Sarah.

“And athleticism as well,” Richard added. “The format is interesting, these eight or nine vignettes, in short succession, almost like short skits in a way, keep it moving, very entertaining. Easy to watch.”

“It helps to understand the story and the traditions,” she said.

“The traditional musical instruments are fascinating: the erhu and the pipa. Those are fascinating to watch. Those are two cultural instruments that we’re not accustomed to seeing,” Richard said.

“This was [Sara’s] Christmas gift to me and she intentionally bought orchestra seats so we can keep an eye on the cello and instruments as well as sit close to the performers,” he added, as Richard plays the cello himself.

The couple both felt a spiritual component in the show’s stories and legends.

“Definitely the mediation part. It’s clear that there is higher beings, higher consciousness,” Richard said.

“It was so colorful, the amount of color was exquisite. It blew me away,” said Jonathan Patterson, the co-manager of a Walmart, who attended the opening night of Shen Yun in Atlanta with his wife, Stacy.

“It was beautiful. It was almost like I was watching it by myself, in a bit of a trance,” he said.

“Quite honestly it was just beautiful, beautiful. It was exciting, well worth the investment, the time spent here. You could tell the story behind it. That to me was so important, the story behind it.”

Shen Yun is not allowed to perform its authentic Chinese art forms in China today due to the communist regime’s policies against Chinese traditions. A Shen Yun show includes content that depicts the harsh persecution that traditional spiritual believers face in China.

“How they would narrate in between, like these intermissions. I enjoyed that it makes it much more personable for the viewer who doesn’t know much about it,” Jonathan said.

Audience members take away a variety of messages from the show, for Jonathan “It seemed like overall hope—as an end result, bringing it together. I like the whole heaven and earth persona that it brought,” he said.

“What was really impressive to me was the fact how synchronized it was, with the dancers, that’s not easy to do by any means. It’s just on point ... very impressive, very impressive. It was very unique, very captivating. Thank you [Shen Yun] for coming,” Jonathan added.