SALT LAKE CITY—Audience members can see the passion in the artists of Shen Yun Performing Arts when they are experiencing the performance.

“What a wonderful job. It’s really lovely to have you share what you believe and what you feel so passionately through your presentation, through your dancing, and through your singing. That was really beautiful. Very talented. Thank you,” said Angela Bassett.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and having been to China before, David Bassett has been charmed by what he saw. He shared that it was good to see the truth behind the glamor.

“I think it’s fantastic. A number of years ago, we all went to Beijing together and got to visit the beautiful city, but to hear some of the story that’s not told there is really neat to get the bigger picture,” Mr. Bassett said.

Shen Yun shares the beauty of Chinese culture with the world but it also doesn’t hesitate to show the world the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party.

“It’s wonderful to see it because I don’t think you see that in modern China. But to understand the spiritual nature that is been taught for centuries, it’s really neat to see,” Mr. Bassett said.

Shen Yun’s Masters of Ceremony give brief introductions for each piece so that audiences who are unfamiliar with Chinese culture can understand the culture.

“The narration is funny, but it makes the dances much more enjoyable because you know what the story is,” Mr. Bassett said.

Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“It’s neat to hear about their background as dancers and their certain specialties and stuff,” Mr. Bassett said.

Shen Yun’s performance takes the audience on a journey through time. From creation onwards, the audience experiences China’s 5,000 years one story at a time.

“We believe in a creator. We believe that we’re all descended from God, that we’re all his children, and that we have this home, this Earth was created for us, that he came here, created it, and we followed him here. So that part was very similar,” Ms. Bassett said.

Mr. Bassett expressed his gratitude to Shen Yun for sharing their art with the world.

“We think they’re wonderful, and we’re grateful for them doing this, sharing their talents and their gifts with us. It’s absolutely enjoyable. We thank them for that,” he said.

Reporting by Mary Mann and Maria Han.