NEW YORK CITY—Paul Fletcher had heard attacks on Shen Yun Performing Arts, which only made him all the more curious about why the performance might be controversial, and he wanted to see it for himself.

“How can you attack something that’s so graceful and beautiful?” Mr. Fletcher, head of marketing for a dermatology company, said after experiencing Shen Yun for himself at Lincoln Center on March 29. “I understand there’s implications with China and the government over there, but to me, as I look at this, I mean, these are very talented artists, and they’re telling a very compelling story, and why would that be a problem? I can’t understand that.

For thousands of years, Chinese culture was considered divinely inspired, but when the Chinese Communist Party seized power in 1949, it began violent campaigns to uproot the traditional culture, such as with the Cultural Revolution.

Despite the years-long campaign, Shen Yun has grown to eight companies which will this year visit some 200 cities around the world.

Mr. Fletcher was grateful for the cultural experience.

“It’s so powerful and I’m learning a lot about the history of the dance,” Mr. Fletcher said. “It’s obviously an ancient culture and it’s been a privilege to really learn a little bit more about it.”

“Just the grace and the beauty and the athleticism, but it’s all combined together to create such a compelling story. It’s amazing, it’s really quite fascinating,” he said.

Mr. Fletcher wanted to encourage Shen Yun to continue, believing many could benefit from experiencing it for themselves.

“It’s one of teaching, it’s one of demonstrating grace and beauty and telling a very lasting story, and I’m hopeful that this will continue, because I think a lot of young people would really benefit from seeing this, and [understand] more about Chinese culture,” he said. “And it’s a very wonderful culture.”