CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Six years ago, Fred Waite and his children fell in love with Shen Yun Performing Arts, and since then, they have returned to the theater to catch Shen Yun’s performance every year.

“We get front-row seats every year,” said Mr. Waite, a CEO of a tech company, who watched the performance with his son and daughter at the Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center on Jan. 5.

“They change it every year, and they have new stories but keep the same kind of quality of dance and just the base foundation of what the story’s about, and so it’s just … so awesome,” he said.

“It’s magical,” said Mr. Waite. “You gotta appreciate the art of dancing, but when you take the history of it and combine it with the challenge of China—I’ve been there many times—I can appreciate what they say about the challenges, and so it’s neat to see just the freedom on the stage.”

Some of the story-based dances are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. According to the Shen Yun website, many of Shen Yun’s artists have personally experienced this persecution and were thus forced to flee their home country. During the performance, the audience learns that Shen Yun cannot be seen in China.

“To have the freedom [in America] to be able to express and keep the traditions of thousands of years of dance alive in the stories is pretty inspiring,” said Mr. Waite.

Mr. Waite also said that he was impressed by Shen Yun’s artistic director’s ability to put the performance together, and he extended his thanks to the performers.

“We’re in the front row every time, so we see their faces in the orchestra,” he said. “Thank you. Thank you for what you do and the commitment that you guys put forth. We appreciate everything that you do, all the work, the effort, and it shows itself in the show.”