“I believe that much of the inspiration has been planted like a seed right now. And it will germinate and it will come out in the weeks to come,” said Richard Garoogian, a musician and artist, after seeing a performance at the William Saroyan Theatre on Jan. 29.

Shen Yun is based in New York and it is dedicated to reviving China’s 5,000 years of civilization. Although Shen Yun is welcomed around the world, it is not able to perform in China.

“It’s very good to bring it to light so that we can also appreciate the freedoms that we have in America. Our founding fathers set things up for us so that all people can be free, to express themself. And so I’m very happy to see all of the tremendous amount of work to do that. That’s not easy,” said Mr. Garoogian.

“I’m understanding the story. And it’s very, very powerful to me. Much more powerful than just written word. I can see the emotion that they convey through their movement. And I really appreciate their precision in how much it takes to put it together. And how it links so well with the music,” said Mr. Garoogian.

The dance stories speak of the good being protected and the evil being punished. These stories originate from both modern China and Chinese history and mythology.

“Love is the answer. The anger is preventing them from that love. And it’s those—people that have all of that anger that they don’t have that love. And so they just need a hug,” said Melinda Wright, a song writer.

“The love will win out, just as the sun will come up the next day. And it was shown in the presentation, even though I don’t understand Chinese. It was shown to me that the light will prevail in the long run, no matter what,” added Mr. Garoogian.

“It doesn’t matter what name we give that divine. Different cultures have different names, but it’s still exactly the same,” said Mr. Garoogian.