SALFORD, UK—The performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Lowry Salford in Salford, delighted the audience on Feb. 21, including Bruce Carter, a retired aerospace engineer.

“It’s amazing,” he said. ”It’s so colorful, and obviously, the dancing is fantastic. Super enjoying it.”

He has some familiarity with Asian culture from his time as a marine engineer in the Merchant Navy. He said the culture is “fantastic. I’ve spent a lot of time out the Far East.”

The message of compassion came through clearly for Mr. Carter. “You find that everywhere you go. Everywhere, every country has its own—there are parallels in similar ways in all human emotions [such as] compassion.” He also acknowledged the reverse of compassion in the communist party.

To the performers, Mr. Carter gave his heartiest encouragement. “It’s fantastic what you do. It’s taken us a few hours to drive here, but it’s worth every minute.”

Mr. Braithwaite said: “It’s sad that they can’t practice what they like in their own country. Very sad. I got [a] keener understanding of Chinese culture. Good to know the culture and the reason why they’re doing this.”

He was amazed at the 3D animated backdrop that interacted with the dancers. “It’s very clever, the way they integrated it, [and how they put] the real people into the animation.”

Ms. Smith enjoyed the culture presented by Shen Yun. “That’s the best bit,” she said. “I’m learning.” The spiritual aspect of traditional Chinese culture was new to her. “I know very little about the culture so this is a learning experience for me.”

Ms. Smith also expressed her encouragement to the performers. “Thank you for just coming and doing this.” She thanked the performers for “sharing their passion.”