PITTSBURGH, Pa.—For the third year in a row, William Ries gifted his wife, Lindsay Ries, tickets to see Shen Yun Performing Arts for Christmas. Standing in the lobby of The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 28, the couple shared what they enjoyed about Shen Yun’s all-new 2024 production.

“It’s a lot of fun to get together and watch this,” said Mr. Ries, a vice president of marketing. “The athleticism of the performers are very impressive, and the stories are interesting, too.”

Shen Yun’s program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith. Mrs. Ries said she had not known about the persecution happening in China today until she watched Shen Yun.

“Each year, we learn a little bit more about modern-day China and China before communism,” said Mrs. Ries, a director of government affairs for a national tech association. China before communism “seems like a simpler time,” said Mrs. Ries. “It seems very beautiful. It’s interesting; it’s something that I didn’t know about before, so I’m actually learning stuff while I’m here each time.”

Mrs. Ries also said that Shen Yun’s story-dances depicting China’s persecution of people of faith over the years have been very impactful.

“It sticks with me and remains with me,” she said.

“The gods intervene to help people when they need them most, so when they feel the most down, or they’re in need the most, that they call on their gods to help them. And I found that inspirational.”

Mr. Ries expressed his agreement with his wife’s statement. “I think that the faith in the gods is what really carried a lot of the individuals through the challenges of the stories that we watched,” he said.