KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Up on stage, Tim Jones saw an inspiring inner spirit within the dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

On Jan. 12, Mr. Jones, a machinist, found New York-based Shen Yun’s revival of 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture to be an eye-opener he wanted to share.

He spoke of happy endings, hope, and a spirituality in the culture that spoke to him. The traditional Chinese culture values principles like compassion, piety, justice, and respect for the heavens. It is a divinely inspired culture once nearly lost under communist rule.

In 2006, artists came from around the world to form Shen Yun, reviving the culture through music and classical Chinese dance.

“The talent I saw up there, the uplifting with the spiritual side of it—there is a spiritual side of it ... I was amazed by this,” Mr. Jones said at the Sacramento Community Center Theater.

What he saw in that talent was hope.

“Here is a chance at hope, there is a possibility to have hope and seek hope,” Mr. Jones said. “If you stay focused in your life and believe in the right things, in the right way, you will maintain your hope. And it’s for everyone, I believe everyone should see this.”

“You have to have hope for whatever it is you want ... anything. Spiritually, you have to have hope,” Mr. Jones said.

The traditional values came through in the stories and dances, which is why Mr. Jones found it to be eye-opening.

“They know how to live and respect life, respect each other, and we need to learn that again,” Mr. Jones said. “People need to believe that there is a right way to go, and that’s what I believe.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Catherine Yang

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.

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.