SALT LAKE CITY—In the brief century that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been in power, it has attempted to rewrite Chinese history and has given the world a narrative about China that is entirely different from what China really is.

“It’s fascinating to learn about all these cultural things that I didn’t even know about. Most of my life what I’ve seen is what the Communist Party wants us to know about China. I didn’t know there was so much backstory and cultural diversity there with faith,” said Randall Cloud, a real estate investor, who had come to see Shen Yun Performing Arts with his daughter, Riley.

“Big takeaway for me is that I want to look up some more about the historical Chinese cultures and faiths and beliefs and everything happening before the last 50 years or so,” he said.

Mr. Cloud said that understanding one’s history is crucial for understanding one’s identity.

“I think it’s always important for all of us to realize where we all came from. Everything historical on earth, all of our different cultures, the different belief systems we’ve had throughout time, and how that affects us today. And to rely on traditional values, I think, is really important,” he said.

“They’re amazing. It’s really amazing how skilled they are. It’s very impressive,” Mr. Cloud said.

One dance that really struck Mr. Cloud was the dance story depicting the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

“The performance where they were being dragged away by the Communist Party and then he comes back and relies on his faith,” he said.

“I think it’s really cool, she’s kind of made this a thing she wants to do every year. We let them pick an event that they want to do and she picked Shen Yun,” Mr. Cloud said.