FRESNO, Calif.—Entertainment seems simple and the work that is required to make it happen often goes unnoticed. But Jordan Slauter was able to see that Shen Yun Performing Arts was more than just a simple live production.

“I was floored. It was fantastic. Everything about it was very entertaining. The hard work, I just respect so much because they put in so much effort and work and time. I’m just very inspired and very entertained. I loved it. I'd come back again and watch it. It was really, really great,” said Mr. Slauter an entertainment business owner.

Shen Yun is based in New York and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance. Through this dance form, the artists are able to convey an art that captures the attention of the audience for two hours.

“It was incredible. It was really coming from an entertainment point of view. Just the precision, the practice, what they must have put into it. The stories were great. The humor was great. It was just really entertaining. I loved it,” Mr. Slauter said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, a culture that was nearly destroyed after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came into power.

“That was great. It was great to see from that point of view. I didn’t know how important the culture and the religion aspect of it is. It was very neat, really informative,” Mr. Slauter said.

Shen Yun is using dance and music as its voice while also lending a voice to those who have been silenced in present-day China.

Mr. Slauter was pleased to see Shen Yun, “Just to express yourself, to be able to have that freedom, to embrace culture and to show it off, and to be able to bring that to life.”

Shen Yun is unable to perform in China due to its truthful depiction of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners.

“It’s unfortunate when you’re not able to express the things that you'd like to express. I don’t think that’s necessarily fair. You should be able to have the freedom to express anything you want to express. That’s the beauty of it,” Mr. Slauter said.

He also believes that Shen Yun is a performance that should be seen by everyone.

“Got to see it. It’s great. It’s definitely one of a kind. You definitely got to take somebody, enjoy it. Like I said, just be ready to be eyes wide open because you don’t want to miss anything,” he said.

Reporting by Lily Yu and Maria Han.