“It was beautiful. Stunning. I loved the spiritual feeling behind it, and I loved the professionalism. I just feel happy and uplifted from being here,” Mrs. Beaton said.

“It made me appreciate my freedom and [think about] how far I would go to protect my belief. These are divine beings expressing themselves through an art form that is absolutely stunning. I like it better than French ballet, and I love ballet.”

“It was very moving. Just the artistry and the professionalism and the colors—it was amazingly enjoyable,” Mr. Beaton commented.  “It’s amazing to imagine that Shen Yun has eight companies that big [touring] all over the world.”

“I cried. The three [principles] of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance—because everything has to start with the truth. If you get off of truth, you’re going off into the weeds,” he said. “The stories had a lot of moral imperatives.”

Mrs. Beaton, on the other hand, said she was too stunned to cry.

“It was kind of a slap in the face that people can be so cruel to other people just because they believe in something—even though they’re harmless,” she said, touched by the artists’ spiritual message.

“That was just blowing me away. It was so expressive [in telling you that] it’s okay to be who you are, to believe as you want to believe, and to stand up against tyranny. That was very inspiring.”

“The human body was still portrayed—it was covered, and it was clean and beautiful. I loved the athleticism,” she said.

“They’re good people. I loved the spirit of the show and [the fact] that they’re taking their traditions and their beliefs and sharing it with us.”