“It was amazing. Such a pleasure to be here. It was outstanding athleticism and the elegance of the dancers is just incredible,” said Leslie Bell, a musical theater star, actress, dancer, and choreographer.

Bell couldn’t hold back her excitement at the mention of the water dance with the sleeves: “I loved it ... it was stunning!”

As a professional dancer and choreographer, her appreciation for the amount of effort that was put in behind the scenes did not go unnoticed.

“I was thinking that as I was watching it because there is such precision in their dancing, and I was thinking that they train eight to 10 hours a day ... I can imagine. They’re a very precise company and it feels as though they dance as one. It’s quite stunning,” the dancer said.

There was one thing about the performance that Bell wanted her daughter to know.

“I love the live music. I actually told my daughter, I said ‘look at this incredible orchestra in front of us.’ That was a really lovely surprise,” she said.

Bell was surprised by the transition from the visual imagery of the ancient times to the modern-day.

The dancer said that Shen Yun was a topic that frequently comes up in conversation.

“I’m excited to tell my friends about it. I have a lot of dancer friends in the industry, so the show often comes up in conversation. I don’t know anyone who has seen it before, so I’m excited to go and talk about it.”