PORTLAND, Ore.—“It is beautiful,” said Brenda Casey after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts. “It’s beautiful, it’s stunning, it’s inspiring, and what else ... I cried three times.”

Shen Yun graced the stage of Portland’s Keller Auditorium on Jan. 18. Ms. Casey, who owns Metro Safety & Fire Inc., was in attendance with her sister-in-law Tammy Miller.

As for the values presented in the performance, Ms. Casey was struck most by the fact that the performance cannot be seen in China today, where traditional values have been decimated.

“I saw a lot of values that connect to my current world,” she said. “We all have the same common values and we’re all suffering the same. ... I don’t know what to call it. We’re all suffering from the same resistance.”

Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun seeks to convey the inner meanings and values that exist among all cultures.

Ms. Casey also noted the similarities depicted in the performance that relate to her own family.

“I’m appreciating that the Chinese spiritual and family values are the same as mine. I’m impressed by that,” she said. “I had never given it [a] thought.”

“I got the message that there is a beautiful, spiritual part of the Chinese culture that someone or something is trying to remove,” she said, sensing some of the deeper content inherent in the performance.

Ms. Casey was alluding to the fact that Shen Yun cannot perform this traditionally-oriented performance in China, due to the Chinese communist party’s systematic destruction of traditional values, according to the company’s website.

“And if I were Chinese and this were my heritage, I would be so proud right this moment,” she said.

Since 2006, Shen Yun has traveled the globe, bringing the wonders of genuine Chinese art and history to millions.

Having already planned to attend again next year before this evening’s performance concluded, Ms. Casey added that Shen Yun offers something for everyone.

“For the little children, the music and the colors and the ribbons. For the older children, it would be the story and the humor, but there is ... there’s a couple of really deep messages that were coming out,” she said. “And it just depends on where a person is at because they struck me.”

“It’s beautiful, it’s spiritual, it has a wonderful message, and I can’t wait because we have grandchildren,” she concluded. “It’s beautiful!”

Reporting by Echo Liu and Michael Fitzgerald.

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.