METAIRIE, L.A.—Fashion designer Tiffany Ruiz was impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts hand-made costumes as the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company performed at Jefferson Performing Arts Center on May 4.

“I thought they were amazing,” Ms. Ruiz said. “I loved all of the vibrant colors. I was very surprised to see that the colors were that vibrant, actually.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now, with eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, Shen Yun is on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture and the beauty and wisdom of “China before communism.”

According to Shen Yun’s website, the ancient Chinese believed that their culture was divinely inspired. Traditional Chinese culture is deeply rooted in the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and Shen Yun’s performance preserves these spiritual elements. In fact, Shen Yun’s name means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.”

Ms. Ruiz said that the emotions she felt when watching Shen Yun included “happiness, joy ... [and] a lot of things that lead back to the divine” and that she could see that Shen Yun was trying to reconnect people with the divine.

Ms. Ruiz said she sees that Shen Yun’s beauty can help people realize the beauty the Creator has blessed humankind with and that it was great for Shen Yun to be sharing this beauty with more people. She also expressed her gratitude towards the performers.

“Thank you very much, you did a wonderful job,” she said. “Not only are you giving a performance, but you’re moving people spiritually, and you’re letting them see a more clear picture of how you have really encompassed the divine.”

Reporting by Nancy Ma and Wandi Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.