NEW YORK CITY—Michael Frost and his wife were supposed to see Shen Yun Performing Arts in March 2020, but then the pandemic hit, abruptly shutting down events around the world.

Five years later, Mr. Frost and his wife are celebrating an anniversary, and thought that finally seeing Shen Yun for the first time would be fitting.

“I think it’s beautiful,” said Mr. Frost, who works in finance, seeing Shen Yun on March 29 at Lincoln Center. “The music, the orchestra, the dance. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

“I was just reading; it’s about 20 years now,” he said of Shen Yun’s history. Founded in 2006, Shen Yun artists come from around the world, but many of the first members had experienced persecution in China by the communist regime.

“It’s a shame the culture can’t be done in China,” Mr. Frost added. “And I’m just glad here in the States and New York that it’s able to be performed here. And I give the people a lot of credit. I give them a ton of credit for being able to express themselves without any fear or anything. So I’m glad to appreciate the art.”

Also seeing Shen Yun for the first time during the March 29 matinee was Victoria Belinsky, a vice president of marketing, who said she had not known much about China before communism before.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. So I think it’s definitely like bringing a lot of attention to how beautiful it is,” Ms. Belinsky said.

Classical Chinese dance is, alongside ballet, one of the most comprehensive dance forms in the world. In addition to complete training in dance fundamentals, the art also requires unique training in classical Chinese dance postures and movements, as the emcees explain, as well as mastery of the tumbling techniques that have inspired the creation of sports like gymnastics and acrobatics.

“It’s a beautiful show. There’s a lot of dancing, incredible music. It’s really cool to see so many stories that have never been told. I would say it’s like really enjoyable,” she said.