HOUSTON—Elver Gonzalez, a Mexican show dancer, and his friend Dinorah Barnes, a business owner, absolutely loved Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening performance at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts on Jan. 28.

“The show was a very beautiful performance. We learned a lot about the Chinese culture, the dances, and the regional attires,” Ms. Barnes said. “It was a combination of ancient and modern China, [it’s] something that I didn’t quite expect. I think it was astonishing.”

Mr. Gonzalez, too, was most impressed by the history of China and the performers. As a fellow performer, he was very impressed by the skill of the dancers and thought they were very beautiful and acrobatic.

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. Gonzalez deeply appreciated Shen Yun bringing back ancient China’s spirituality and felt the program “illuminated” his soul. The message he will be bringing home with him is one of fulfillment.

“The dancing and everything were really nice…the light fulfills me inside,” he said, adding that the world needs Shen Yun because “it takes you to older times where people didn’t have their cellphones and all the media that you have today. It was very nice.”

“We need to go back to the basics, you know, to have more human touch… face to face, soul to soul.”