“I had tears in my eyes more than one time. I didn’t realize that some of those things were happening. And the story of the young woman was really powerful. I’m tearing up a little just thinking about it,” said Tracy Kelly, a fundraiser for a hospital.

The story that Ms. Kelly was referring to is the truthful depiction of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted for their faith in China today.

“I think a lot of American audiences aren’t aware of the issues related to communism. So I think this is kind of a nice way to educate American audiences about what’s going on,” she said.

“I thought that was very neat that the patent was on display here. The first couple of times, I was like, what is going on? I thought that was incredible. It actually was like magic. I loved it,” said Chuck Dellick, an IT director.

“It was magic in front of us,” agreed Ms. Kelly.

Shen Yun’s dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“I loved that there were singers. I didn’t expect that. This is something I’ve wanted to come to for years, and so I was really excited to get the chance. It was just beautiful,” said Ms. Kelly.