NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—Music has been a part of Ingrid Clarfield’s life for decades. In her 41 years of teaching college-level piano, most of her students were Chinese. So the Chinese culture she saw in Shen Yun Performing Arts wasn’t completely foreign to her.

“Everything about it was top-rate. Artistic, professional, and inspiring,” Ms. Clarfield said after the performance.

“The orchestra is truly phenomenal and I love the blending of our traditional orchestra with the pipa and the other Chinese instruments, but the composition was unbelievable,” she said.

“All phenomenal musicians, every section was first rate,” she said.

Shen Yun puts on an all-new production each year. Shen Yun’s resident composers work closely with the choreographers to make sure that each detail in every dance and score is intentional and beautiful.

“As a musician, I was more really listening to the original orchestration and the compositions were so wonderful,” Ms. Clarfield said.

“I'd always wanted to see this, and I’m glad I finally did because it’s not just the dancing. I thought it was all about the dancing. For me now it was much more the colors, the artistry, the storytelling, the music, it was everything,” Ms. Clarfield said.

Music and dance go hand in hand. Ms. Clarfield could see how even Shen Yun’s dancers were highlighting the music.

“It’s very emotional because you feel the music and you get to feel it and see it. So it’s both together. You see the music expressed beautifully by the dancers,” she said.

“I think the narrators in the beginning were wonderful, telling the story,” Ms. Clarfield said.