HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts has been something Marty Kilpatrick has wanted to do and he finally realized that dream this season.

“The show was fantastic. It was sort of like a bucket list thing of my wife to get to see this performance. So when she found out you were coming to Huntsville ... we’re only about an hour away,” said Mr. Kilpatrick, who worked in inventory and quality control before retiring.

Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. One dance that really struck Mrs. Kilpatrick was “Unprecedented Crime,” which told the story of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted for their faith.

“When the couple were together, and they got married, and they were separated because of the persecution. It didn’t make me feel good, but it was the most emotional. Happy ending, but the emotion of their separation—that was moving,” she said.

Shen Yun’s truthful portrayal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made it unable to perform in China.

“My heart bleeds for what you have to go through. The freedoms we have and everything we take for granted,” Mrs. Kilpatrick said.

“I love the ones that the actors went off the back of the stage, and then in the video, you see them changing. Then you see the video of them like up in the air. That was great,” Mrs. Kilpatrick said.

“The lady that did the two-stringed instrument, that was just amazing and fabulous,” he said.