WITCHITA, Kan.—Michael Wayne McNally Hicks, a former military airborne paratrooper, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the opening matinee at Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center on April 6.

“Top-notch, two thumbs up,” he said, “I would recommend it to anybody!”

“Coupled with the etheric field that we all feel but we don’t acknowledge … this production is the remembrance of the divine spark within all of us,” he added. “[T]he whole message is to remember who we are, and [that] we are unconditionally loved by very loving [deities] from above or within.”

In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the company’s website.

Attending the opening matinee at Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center on April 6, she said, “I had tears in my eyes … it was just so beautiful.”

“The creativity of this and the beauty in it is just amazing. It was worth every penny,” she said.

According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s costumes and colors are true to traditional aesthetics and styles, painting each dance piece with the splendor of the past.

Mrs. Rutherford felt the Shen Yun performers’ energy and how they shared that with the audience, saying, “I think it came clear into the audience—the energy.”

Describing her Shen Yun experience in a few words, she said, “It was heart-filling.”