MANCHESTER, UK—Marketing coordinator Tesneem Alfrashed had no idea what to expect when her father suggested they see Shen Yun Performing Arts. Upon stepping out of the theater, Ms. Alfrashed was aglow with positive feelings.

“I was just excited,” she said at the Palace Theatre on Jan. 16. “Peaceful, but at the same time, a lot of fun and excitement; it was like a mixture of positive feelings.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—China before communism.

“I love it. I think culture is really important. And to make sure that it stems within everyone, it’s really important. And I think they did a really good job of that, both attracting the old generations and the new generations,” she said.

“They’re doing an amazing thing by keeping Chinese traditions and culture alive.”

Traditional Chinese culture is a divinely inspired culture and thus deeply spiritual.

“I think it’s also important because faith is what brings us all together. So it’s another thing to keep alive,” she said.

Ms. Alfrashed said the power of faith had been exemplified in the stories, such as one where a character, staying true to prayer, gained enlightenment—a key takeaway Ms. Alfrashed would keep after seeing the performance.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity, especially for Chinese people, to show their culture,” she said, adding that it was sad it could not be seen in China due to the communist regime. “However, it’s great that the rest of the world gets to see it, and it’s brought to light, and it’s not kept in the dark.”