PETERSBURG, Fla.—Gabriella Russi, a professional dancer, greatly enjoyed Shen Yun’s evening show at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts on Jan. 17.

It was her first time seeing Shen Yun and she thought everything was beautiful.

“We loved the show and I loved their facial expressions. The technical dance was just beautiful, the technique was flawless, and the storyline was incredible. We really enjoyed it,” Ms. Russi said.

Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company.

Its artists seek to revive the glory of China’s 5,000 years of history and share through a series of short dance pieces all that was good and beautiful in China before communism.

Ms. Russi was mesmerized by the solo performance of the erhu—an ancient Chinese instrument reminiscent of the human voice. Though it only has two strings, it is capable of expressing a wide range of emotions.

“It was incredible, I’ve never seen that before. So, for me that was very beautiful,” she said, adding that she, too, believes that music purifies the mind.

During the show, Shen Yun’s bilingual hosts provided an introduction to Chinese music, highlighting an interesting linguistic connection.

They explained that in the Chinese language, ’medicine‘ and ’music’ share the same character but with different pronunciations. In fact, music is considered one of the earliest forms of medicine in the world.

“I love to see the whole storyline and see the [spiritual] aspect of it too. It was incredible for me to see a different religion than we are. It really spoke to me, seeing the Buddhas,” she said.

Her boyfriend, Esteban, said that he appreciated Shen Yun’s dedication to upholding traditional values.

“They preserved all the beautiful outfits and they brought that to life with a lot of color. It makes you feel like you’re there, like you’re fully immersed in the performance,” the retired marine said.

“[Shen Yun] makes you feel kind of nostalgic. It makes you want to go back in time and be there at that time. I love that,” he said.

Though the couple is not very religious, Ms. Russi still resonated with the spiritual element of the performance.

“I really enjoyed the [story-based] dance where, when the [character] was in despair and the communist people were attacking him and everyone abandoned him, he turned to God,” she reflected.

“I think it’s beautiful because it doesn’t matter what your religion is, [Shen Yun’s stories] will still speak to you. That really touched me, I thought it was very beautiful.”