NEW ORLEANS—Charmaine Russel, vice president of a financial institute, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts staged at the Saenger Theatre on Feb. 19.

“It is wonderful, very enjoyable. So entertaining, it’s something that I have never been exposed to before,” she said.

Shen Yun’s website reads, “A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance.”

“The costumes, the dancing, the performance overall, the singing, it’s just totally different to what we are accustomed to. I just felt that I was in a fantasy, in another world at another time,” Ms. Russel said.

“It was just totally beautiful. It was just exciting and just different, different from anything that I have ever seen,” she said.

“Established in 2006 by a group of internationally-renowned artists, Shen Yun has set out on a mission to revive 5,000 years of civilization, in particular the spirituality that was part of China’s divinely inspired culture,” according to the Shen Yun website.

‘Nothing compares to this’

Also sitting in the audience was Sharon Fox, a laboratory manager.

“I was extremely impressed. This is such a world class organization, I had no idea before coming here how impressive this would be,” Ms. Fox said.

She had seen many dance performances “but nothing compares to this,” she said.

“To me, what impresses me the most is the precision of the dancing ... It’s enlightening. It shows some history. And the fact that it is true historic dancing from China, really it is very unique. Something we don’t find very often here.”

Ms. Fox was deeply moved by the story dance, Steadfast Lotus, a piece depicting the plight of practitioners of Falun Gong in their peaceful resistance to the modern-day persecution by the Chinese regime.

“That was part of the history that is most recent that I was not that aware of and I appreciated them bringing that to us,” she said.

An important component of classical Chinese dance is its attention to a dancer’s inner spirit and his or her ability to convey deep emotional expressions.

Ms. Fox was feeling grateful for the opportunity of seeing Shen Yun and urged others to do the same.

“If they ever have an opportunity, they must come to see this performance. It is absolutely astounding.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Raiatea Tahana-Reese

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.