“It was very heavenly,” he said. “The Chinese culture is really very endearing.”

“The performers have a lot of energy, and you can feel that coming through,” he added.

Mr. Radford saw Shen Yun almost 10 years ago and enjoyed the depicted values and humility of ancient Chinese culture, something he said that modern society is lacking worldwide.

“[There’s] a little more caring for each other and more aware[ness] of your surroundings than American culture,” he said.

Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999. After the CCP launched a persecution campaign against the spiritual practice, adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.

Jonathan Scott Scholl, deputy commandant of an Army Reserve military academy, and his wife, Dawn, came to see Shen Yun from Fort Knox, about a two-hour drive away.

“I absolutely love it—it’s so beautiful,” said Mrs. Scholl. She said the performance pulled on her heartstrings, and it was so powerful it made her smile and cry.

“The dance, the colors, the outfits are just beautiful,” she added.

Mrs. Scholl was also amazed at how expressive classical Chinese dance is and how fluidly the company was able to express themselves in song, dance, and music.

Shen Yun also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style and a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments into a classical Western orchestra.

Having worked for the Army for 40 years and been a soldier himself for 20 years, Mr. Scholl said he appreciated the history as well as how Shen Yun presented “the struggles that communism can present.”

“I personally enjoy the history that’s being presented through the performance, through the dance, and through the choreography,” he said, “and I think it’s a great educational way to show folks what’s going on in the world today.”

“The interaction of the 3-dimensional digital screen just brings it all to life and makes it even bigger than it already is,” he said. “It’s very captivating for your audience, and we’ve really enjoyed it.”