PORTLAND, Ore.—Shen Yun Performing Arts brought traditional Chinese culture to life for Michael Nesheiwat, an intellectual property attorney, who watched the performance with his family at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Jan. 19.

“I’m very impressed by the show,” said Mr. Nesheiwat. He added that it was hard to say which part impressed him most—“the wide variety of skills, the singing, the choreography, the cinematography.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun has toured the world for eight years with the mission to revitalize 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.

“Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun weaves a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales,” reads Shen Yun’s website.

“It’s nice to see the culture come out in such a vivid display of colors. My family really has enjoyed it so far,” Mr. Nesheiwat said at intermission.

“I’ve been to China before on business trips,” he said. “I obviously knew a lot of the contributions that the Chinese culture has made in science and math and arts, but to see it really brings it to light, some of the old customs, the tradition.”

Shen Yun’s dancers portray a variety of stories, some funny and some serious. Mr. Nesheiwat was amused by the dance piece Ne Zha Churns the Sea, in which a mythical demi-god is born from a giant meatball and rescues his village from the evil Dragon King.

He also commented on the tales that depict modern China, where spirituality and traditional values, such as those expressed in Shen Yun, have been nearly destroyed under communist rule.

“Obviously the culture over there is a little bit stifled now with the communist government,” Mr. Nesheiwat said. “You can definitely see a very strong spiritual underlying spirit behind these performances today.”

Accompanying the Shen Yun dancers is a full live orchestra and a stunning digital backdrop that changes to complement the performers’ colorful costumes.

“The show displayed a variety of talents and skills and singing, art, dance, choreography in a vivid display of culture and color,” said Mr. Nesheiwat. “They went through each dynasty, which I thought has been very cool.”

He said he plans to tell his family and friends how much he enjoyed Shen Yun.

“The show has obviously very talented singers and dancers,” he said. “The variety of the songs and the routines are very enlightening.”

Reporting by Echo Liu and Sally Appert

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.