Having immigrated from Hong Kong as a child, Mrs. Waichi said Shen Yun is something she would have loved to have been exposed to as a young girl.

“I really appreciate that it’s being shown here,” she said. “I didn’t have that opportunity, so now I’m taking my daughter to be exposed to our culture back home—our traditional culture—and we are loving it.”

According to the company’s website, the presented heroes in the story-based dances embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization and convey morals that are still relevant.

Having read books to her daughter about traditional Chinese folklore, Mrs. Waichi’s said she could identify with some of the stories and thought it was “great that she can see it in the format of dance and choreography.”

“A lot of the stories are rooted in spirituality … that’s why [communist China] forbid it, that’s why they have not supported it and are threatened by it,” she said.

“But it’s part of our culture, part of humanity [and] part of our evolution and growth,” she added. “And I think it teaches a lot … all the stories and morals behind these folk tales and tradition.”