ATLANTA—On Feb. 1, retired TV producer and writer Jeff Fields and his wife Eleanor Brower, a retired psychologist, enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The couple thought the experience was beautiful and wonderful.

“The colors were magnificent … It was just very moving. To think about the juxtaposition of what you portrayed then and how China is now—the contrast was pretty amazing,” Ms. Brower said.

She thought the spirituality conveyed through the performance was beautiful and thought “it was the beauty of culture that was the most touching of all.”

The spread of atheism quickly eradicated Chinese people’s belief in the divine. The cherished virtues and values learned from the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism disappeared over the course of the Chinese communist regime’s decades of violent campaigns to destroy traditional culture.

This aspect of the performance was very intriguing for Mr. Fields.

“Our impression of China is very limited in this country. We don’t get into the culture of China, especially the history portrayed here. The dance was wonderful. The dancers were magnificent. The music was incredible—especially the woman who played the two-string instrument and made it sound like three violins,” he said.

“The costumes were incredible. The personalities that came out of the dancers in their movement [and] the characters they played with movement, was incredible. Beautiful performance all the way through.”

‘It will open your eyes. You will understand more about the history and the culture of China just by seeing these magnificent performers, and those—the young dancers—were just phenomenal.”