SYDNEY, Australia—Alex Ganji, CEO of Rushing Waters Billiards, was inspired by Shen Yun Performing Arts and their conviction to share the positive message of their beliefs when he attended a full house performance at Sydney Lyric Theatre on May 6.

“Shen Yun was amazing,” Mr. Ganji said. “It was basically so bright, original; it was just amazing to watch. All the costumes were unique, and all the people were so talented. You could see so much hard work has gone into it.”

Mr. Ganji thought the company succeeded in its mission after experiencing Shen Yun on Saturday evening.

As a Christian, Mr. Ganji found himself wanting to learn more about the beliefs of Shen Yun’s performers and artists, impressed by what he described as their strength of conviction.

Shen Yun’s dancers, musicians, and artists practice Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, a spiritual cultivation discipline in which adherents follow the core tenets of truth, compassion, and forbearance. A number of Shen Yun performers have suffered and escaped persecution for their faith in China.

“I think they stand strong on their beliefs. I think that they’re very firm in their beliefs, and they bring their message across very clear to the audience,” Mr. Ganji said.

“I think that because they’re so passionate and strong about their beliefs that they hold good value to what they stand for. So I think it’s very encouraging for people with the same beliefs,” he said.

“I personally believe in Jesus Christ, so I stand for him. However, they mentioned God and Satan on the screen. I'd like to look into it a bit more and see what they actually believe in,” he added.

Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop added a whole new level of creativity to the performance that impressed friends Carla Haroutonian and Ava Levin, who attended the same performance.

During intermission, the friends shared their thoughts on the skill and creativity of the artists and performers, as well as Shen Yun’s mission to revive traditional Chinese culture before it was almost lost under communism.

Ms. Haroutonian, a researcher at the renowned Westmead Institute for Medical Research, thought Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop, which seamlessly extends the stage, made Shen Yun “creative and unique.”

Ms. Levin was impressed by the skill of the dancers. “It’s almost just like watching one person do all the moves, like everyone’s in sync. It’s spectacular, and the storyline is just phenomenal,” she said.

Ms. Haroutonian, who has Armenian heritage, was particularly struck by a mini-drama depicting China under communist tyranny.

“I really like the storyline as well,” Ms. Haoutonian said. “They were telling the story with when communism came in. That quite struck a chord,” she added.

“I’m also from a post-Soviet country, so I think I quite resonate with that and the change that happens and also the difficulty to go back to that culture once communism comes in,” Ms. Haroutonian said.

“Religion is almost less important in a lot of different cultures, but I love that they’ve shown how important it is still in the Chinese culture, and it’s really, really beautiful,” she said.

As a musician, Ms. Levin praised the live Shen Yun Orchestra and described it as magical.

“It’s beautiful having a live orchestra,” she said. “I think makes a massive difference, and I think the fact that it’s incorporated in all the moves, like the rhythm when certain movements are hit. I love that! It makes it really magical.”