RALEIGH, N.C.—Elmor L. Peterson, a retired research mathematician who is considered a pioneer in the field of “geometric programming,” attended the Shen Yun performance with his wife, Miriam, a retired nutritionist. They attended the Saturday evening performance at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium.

Elmor said they will be returning next year.

As a retired mathematics professor, he seemed to take the Shen Yun program book as an abbreviated textbook to study.

“I’m taking this [program book] home because I think there is a lot of wisdom in Chinese culture, and I’m going to read each one of these,” he said.

Miriam was captivated by the dancers in the performance.

“I think the female dancers were the epitome of grace and femininity, and the male dancers were so masculine, with their drums,” she said.

They also enjoyed Shen Yun’s orchestra, with its masterful combination of ancient Chinese instruments and classical Western instruments.

“You could hear the Eastern [instruments] over the top of the more brass type of Western instruments. It was a very nice combination,” she said.

Elmor appreciated the quick “sampling” of the instruments in the orchestra towards the end.

He said he thought Shen Yun was spectacular.

His wife agreed. “It was ‘awesome,’ to use the vernacular of the young people,” she said.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.