NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—There was anticipation in the air as Shen Yun Performing Arts presented its 2025 performance at the State Theatre New Jersey on March 23.

Alex Bacaler, a musician, connected with Shen Yun’s mission to revive the traditional culture of China before communism.

He said it’s important to bring traditions back. “Just spreading that the message [makes] the Chinese Communist Party to be very aggressive.”

“I think it’s fantastic because you are spreading the message that the Chinese Communist Party has destroyed a lot of the old culture. When I went to Shanghai, I saw that. At the time, there was only a small section that was the old China. Everything else was new.”

Much has changed since the communist regime has ruled China and Mr. Bacelar saw that when he visited China.

“I had a chance to visit some other towns in China that have been preserved. There is a town in China near Shanghai about one hour drive out of Shanghai that is preserved the way it was in the 19th century,” he said.

As a musician, the orchestra especially intrigued the professional cellist. “It was fantastic. The choreography was amazing, and the orchestra was fantastic! So I was very impressed,” he said.

He was impressed with “the way everything was put together. It was the choreography and the coordination of whatever was on stage and whatever was on the screen was truly amazing.”

Mr. Bacelar also makes and restores violins, violas, and cellos. Shen Yun features a live orchestra with both Eastern and Western instruments. Mr. Bacelar is familiar with Chinese instruments because he said his wife is Chinese. He took note of one instrument, the erhu, that is played on two strings.

“I was very impressed by the lady who played the erhu. She did fantastic. She was an amazing player,” he said. “What she did with the bow and she did with the left hand is really amazing.”

As a musician, Mr. Bacelar appreciated the quality and much more of the players. He said he listened to “a lot of Chinese music, temple music, and classical music.”

He said he was impressed with “everything: the coordination, the way everything was coordinated between the music and the stage. It’s almost like an opera. In opera, you have to coordinate what the singers and the actors are doing on stage with whatever is being done.”

Shen Yun has a 3D backdrop that presents the landscapes of ancient China, with its temples and natural landscapes.

“I was very impressed. I was very impressed. I have been to mainland China. I went to many temples in China. When I see some of the things on the screen, it reminds me of some of the things that I saw there in mainland China. So I can connect,” he said.

Shen Yun Performing Arts is now touring its all-new 2025 production to over 200 cities across five continents, and this proves to be its most engaging ever.