DETROIT—The audience gave its warmest applause to Shen Yun Performing Arts throughout its run at the Detroit Opera House from Feb. 7 through 9.

Dan Djuric, a data officer who works in the real estate industry and came from a socialist country, said that he connected with the dances that depicted the persecution and suppression of belief in modern China.

“They do a great job of really showing us what China was before communism took over. It’s beautiful,” Bill Schofield said, the owner of a company specializing in disaster relief modular housing for the homeless and refugees.

Mark Kurfess, a real estate developer and business owner, said it was “very, very important” for people to know what was happening in today’s China.

“Without awareness, nothing can be done,” he said. “Something has to be done. We hear about it from news outlets, and social media outlets, and so on. To see it on a stage like this, in this light, and also from folks that are of that nationality, totally changed your opinion about it.”

Larry Walters, who works in marketing, liked Shen Yun’s presentation of China’s culture, as well as what’s happening today.

“Every group and region has their own ethnic background, and they shared their expression, expressed themselves differently in different ways and so they’re showing all that,” he said.

“I think it’s good that we’re actually bringing that message out to the people who don’t know much about what’s going on there currently. So it’s been very enlightening in that way,” Mr. Walters said.

Tammy Simak, a general manager, said that Shen Yun “is very inspirational because they’re just wanting to deliver that positive message that there is this culture that still exists and it’s not going to be crushed because of [the persecution].

“It’s very motivating to know that [you] keep persevering through it and you keep living life to deliver a message,” she said.

Shen Yun informed audience members of China’s spiritual tradition before communism.

Mr. Valenzuela felt a wave of positive energy during the performance. “There’s a ton of energy, and it comes from the dancers and the audience together,” he said. “The whole experience was electrifying. Never a dull moment, never. You’re 100 percent paying attention all the time.”

David Check, a sales director for an automotive supplier, said seeing Shen Yun “closes the circle” on his understanding of China today and the traditional Chinese culture.

“It seems to have a lot of emphasis on kindness and goodness, some Christian attributes, but from a Chinese perspective,” insurance agency owner Scott Kirkpatrick said.

Company director John DeBoni felt a message from the lyrics of Shen Yun’s soprano. He loved that the soprano was singing about heaven and thought she delivered “a very universal” message.

“The message I got is that, at one point, we’re all going to be in a much better place so we can go through our trials and our tribulations and the tough times. But at the end of our life, something better waits for us,” he said.

Jihane Eid, a lawyer, saw Shen Yun as a call for everyone to “not be too connected to the materialistic world or driven by what’s happening today,” but rather to “relate everything to our traditions, our culture, and how we were raised.”

Judith Fisher, the owner of a child welfare agency, saw a message of hope in Shen Yun.

“The message of hope, and calming, and possibilities,” she said. Hope, she added, “of a better future.”

Valerie Deeds, a senior mechanical engineer, felt connected to Shen Yun’s presentation of China’s traditional culture, especially in the performance of the singers.

“The performance is so tight. They just are so in sync and they are so strong. The dancers are so fluid and beautiful and you can feel the emotion in their dance. I think it is just the most stunning thing,” Ms. Deeds said.

“And the costumes are incredible. But the singers—we weren’t expecting to see singers; the singers are amazing.”

Christina Heath, whose husband is a mortgage broker, said: “It was just, I mean, amazing. It gave a very graceful and beautiful elegance. It made me feel very tranquil and at peace.”

“It just made you feel good and like you wanted to be a part of it,” she said.