CHARLESTON, S.C.—Shen Yun brought fond memories for Chris and Carolyn Fordyce when they enjoyed the performance at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on April 19.

Mr. Fordyce, formerly a linguist in the Air Force and said the performance “was very interesting. I learned Chinese when I was in the military. So I’ve always had a soft spot for China. My wife and I have been to China a couple of times, so it’s been great coming here.”

“I think that’s beautiful, because I think people like us don’t really know. I mean, him being in the Chinese Air Force, we knew. But your ordinary people don’t really know what goes on in China. So I think that’s good to know,” she said.

“I thought it was so touching because, you know, I’m an American,“ Mrs. Fordyce said. ”They’re from China. And not that we know so much, but we knew about the communism [in China]. ... We knew about the hardship. We knew about the sadness that took place in China. And the performance today was so beautiful. And I thought it was touching. So, as an American, I was glad to be able to see that. And I felt like I had a connection,” she said.

Shen Yun hosts, one who speaks in English and the other who speaks in Mandarin, come on stage to describe the dances and give short explanations. Mr. Fordyce could understand some of what was said in Mandarin. “The emcees did a great job,” he said.

Mrs. Fordyce commented on the dancers’ skills and training. “I think it’s so beautiful. And they’re so talented. And they jump so high. And they flip, like, who does that? They do,” she said.

There were many dances the Fordyces liked. As the curtains open, a splendid scene unfolds of the Creator and many heavenly beings coming down to give culture to humanity.

Mr. Fordyce said, “I know the first one was Tian Di. It was the creation, and God.”

Mrs. Fordyce spoke about the dance, depicting several stories, including the dance depicting Xi’an warriors, which reminded her of the famous terracotta warrior sculptures.

“I enjoyed the opening one. I also liked the second, where it looked like Xi'an warriors. ... The terracotta warriors? That was so beautiful,” she said.

She also liked the love story and how it gave them memories of their time in China.

“We went to Shanghai, China. The people are so beautiful there. And they’re so beautiful on the [stage]. I love that. I like this about when they were in love, and she was from the heavens, and he was just an ordinary person,” she said.

Mrs. Fordyce said she liked the message in the dances. “We have to relate to one another. It’s all personal, our personal relations. It’s not your wealth. It’s not your status. It’s how you treat others,” she said.

Mrs. Fordyce agreed. “Tremendous talent. For ordinary people to love what we get to see in here. They’re tremendously talented.”