NEW YORK CITY—Frederick Newcomb and Cecelia Crowley were thrilled for the opportunity to see Shen Yun Performing Arts, describing the experience afterwards as a beautiful deep-dive into the authentic Chinese culture and expressing gratitude to the artists.

“Oh, that was marvelous. That was such a great explanation and a great presentation. The presentation and the message were one and it conveyed it perfectly,” said Mr. Newcomb, investment banker and president of a financial service company. He and Ms. Crowley saw Shen Yun at Lincoln Center on April 2.

“One of my teachers said, the culture moves from East to West, and I think today was a great example of that,” said Ms. Crowley, who has had a career in the performing arts and today manages a financial advisory firm.

“It’s not only artistic, but it’s athletic and it shows some of the finest traits that I’ve noticed in Chinese hospitality, which are compassion and kindness and mercy,” Ms. Crowley said. “Absolutely artistically articulated in the most beautiful sense. The costumes, the staging, the music, the instrumentation, everything was superb. And I thank you. It was really a wonderful experience.”

“Thank you for showing us and having us see the evolution of the divine introduction of China and its evolution in mankind as it grew,” Mr. Newcomb said, marveling at the concept of thousands of years of history compared to the hundreds America has known.

“You’re doing wonderful work, and I think it should be much appreciated and will be much appreciated around the world. People don’t realize the contribution that has been there in the past, what is now, and what will be the future,” he said. “The future of the world is in our hands. And we won’t outlive it, but it will outlive us. And the good work that’s being done like this will transcend time.”

“I think it’s going to be, and is, a wonderful presentation and direction, especially of the culture and the history of the country. Marvelous,” he said.

“We support the restoration of tradition, because tradition brings more civilization. And civilization is kindness and compassion,” she said, adding that Shen Yun had shown this too in their performance.

“I think everyone should bring their family to this because this is a wonderful family experience. Anyone from 5 to 85 would enjoy this, and understand the true nature of Chinese people, and to understand that they’re open-hearted, and they’re kind, and they’re artistic, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful experience, and I think more people should experience it,” Ms. Crowley said.

“I was taught as a performer that in the arts, we imitate the divine. That when you are an artist, we might approach heavenly things. And that was greatly demonstrated today,” she said.

Mr. Newcomb said he if had an opportunity to speak with the artistic director, he would express how impressed he was with the production. He had paid attention to every detail, down to the number of dancers on stage from moment to moment, and noted there was never a single dancer or movement more than necessary.

“Whether it was one, three, five, seven, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 performers, they were one and they all acted as one together,” Mr. Newcomb said. “They were so precise, so uniform, and projected such a wonderful feeling.”

“And what was very interesting from the presentations, they always selected the appropriate number ... to represent the individual dances that were done there and explain them,” Mr. Newcomb said.

Ms. Crowley added that these dances included several ethnic and folk dances, which Shen Yun explains showcase some of the 50-plus ethnic minority groups and many regions of China.

Ms. Crowley saw in the classical Chinese dance performed by Shen Yun the roots of the athleticism in many modern dance forms today, including modern ballet, and felt Shen Yun was also a performance from which other dancers would particularly benefit.

“Every child that studies ballet would benefit greatly from coming and seeing this,” she added.

As an artist, Ms. Crowley took her hat off to Shen Yun’s artists.

“Everybody deserves a big bravo for this,” she said.