ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Shen Yun Performing Arts performed at the Stifel Theatre on March 2 to an engaged audience that included Rodney Resch, a pilot, and his wife, Tara.

Mr. Resch said he came to see “ancient Chinese culture. That’s what we’re very interested in.”

Mrs. Resch was stunned by the visuals. “I love it,” she said. “It’s beautiful. It’s very eye-appealing. It’s gorgeous. Awe-inspiring. I just sat there and just couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It’s beautiful.”

The messages in the stories were uplifting, said Mr. Resch. They were “about life. I think it’s a good message.”

Mr. Resch also appreciated the spiritual element in traditional Chinese culture. “I think it works well. I think it speaks well to the ancient Chinese that they had actually a spiritual connection,” he said.

Mr. Resch said he would encourage people to come and see Shen Yun. “We’re going to tell them they need to see it. It’s very inspiring, and they need to know a little bit about the history of China, not just what you hear on the media today.”

Abigail Clardy, a ballet dancer at the LaVerne Meier School of Dance, was also at the afternoon Shen Yun performance in St. Louis.

She came with her mother, Temyko, who found Shen Yun “remarkable. Remarkable dancers. They’re getting their word out to us. Just their moves. They were angels walking on the stage. Just absolutely fabulous. Just breathtaking.”

Ms. Clardy said, “The beauty and the gracefulness through the dancing really conveyed the message.”

Ms. Clardy said the message conveyed is paramount to the physical movements presented. “The hardest part: It’s probably conveying the message and the emotions through their face while putting it all into moves—multitasking.”

She understood the spiritual guidance given through the dance: “To know where we’re going. Our next step. Our next journey.”

She said the message “is truly enjoy what makes you happy; what you want to do in life.” She thought it moved everybody in the audience. “Very moving, very encouraging. [The dance] says: ‘Here’s what I love. Here’s what I’m showing.’”

She said classical Chinese dance is very expressive, and the way the dance tells a story is different from ballet. They have “stories that American ballet doesn’t have. Very unique.”