SAN ANTONIO—Eric and Priscilla Baker were entertained and enlightened by the Shen Yun performance at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 30. “It was entertaining, beautiful, inspiring, and spiritual,” said Eric Baker, a general manager at ADT, while Mrs. Baker, an insurance executive, considered the performance “spiritual and enlightening.”

Mr. Baker enjoyed the dance and traditional culture presented by New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts company. He said, “It was something different, a new culture ... the dance was beautiful, the way they move, it’s very, very beautiful. The music is nice, very enjoyable.”

Shen Yun’s story dance pieces draw inspiration from China’s rich history, depicting timeless legends as well as modern-day stories of Falun Gong practitioners in China resisting persecution with faith and courage.

Mrs. Baker thought the dance story about the persecution was an eye-opener and is something people should be aware of, “it’s important to let people know if other people are being persecuted. I wasn’t actually aware that anything like that would be going on in modern-day. I think that nothing can change if people aren’t aware. And if you’re not aware of what happens to [other] people, the same thing could happen to you.”

Traditional Chinese culture was built upon the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Mrs. Baker was enlightened by the performance, “I thought that it’s about finding what’s important within instead of looking out around you. That’s kind of how I interpreted what I learned.”