DENVER—Michael Gaeta, an acupuncture practitioner, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening show at the Buell Theatre on April 5. This marks his fifth consecutive year watching the performance, which has since become a family tradition.

“I bring my kids. … I love coming every year. It reminds me of something [like] an ancient memory of home, of heaven—something of the divine. It also reconnects me to what I do. I practice acupuncture and Chinese medicine which I got into because it has a spiritual foundation, and this show reconnects me to that, not just of Chinese medicine but of life,” he expressed.

As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, China’s 5,000 years of history is filled with breathtaking legends and rich traditions. Yet, within just a few decades of the Chinese communists’ rise to power, this magnificent culture was destroyed.

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 overnight.

Mr. Gaeta believes that everyone should come to see Shen Yun.

“The story lines, some of the themes are similar year to year, which is great. So, there’s continuity,” he said. “There’s something new every year as well in the music, in the choreography, in the little vignettes that they put on. It’s very creative.”

A professional musician before turning to acupuncture, Mr. Gaeta thought Shen Yun’s “blending of traditional Chinese instruments and the orchestral instruments is seamless.”

Mr. Gaeta will be taking home with him the divine message conveyed through the performance. “I love how they find different ways to tell the story of divine beings embodied in and through people. So, when you see that, it awakens in me a reminder [of] what I can do in my own life—to embody something of that divinity as I can in my own way through what I do day to day,” he said.

“The message is one of hope. People get caught up in the outer conflict, but there’s something bigger going on—which is the great awakening in humanity of a transcendent spirit that’s bigger than this world. … That’s manifesting in this world through people. Shen Yun is a great reminder of that. It’s beautiful.”