MESA, Ariz.—The morning of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening night performance in Mesa, Arizona, Holly Reycraft’s husband surprised her with last-minute tickets for Mrs. Reycraft and their daughter Elle to attend the performance they had wanted to see for a very long time.

“He’s [my dad] been calling us, asking ‘how was it? how was it?’” Ms. Reycraft said. “He bought the tickets for us this morning, and he surprised us. But he really wanted to come. Next year, he will be here.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company and has, since its inception in 2006 grown to have eight simultaneously touring companies that will this year perform nearly 800 shows in 200 cities, many of which sold out months in advance.

“The message kind of gives a global unifying message to everyone,” she said. “So that’s why I think it’s also good that they travel to send that unifying message.”

“I mean, her voice made you feel like you were in heaven, because it sounds like an angel, or what you would picture angels to sing like, with that level of soprano, those lungs, and the message behind it and the landscape. Really, really beautiful,” she said.

Ms. Reycraft, a university student now, had danced for more than a dozen years, participating in several competitions.  She said she was amazed at how clean the choreography and coordination between the dance and digital backdrop was executed.

“I know how much work and time goes into all of that so it was just really impressive to see it all,” she said.

“They were absolutely amazing,” she said. “All of their technique was amazing. Their flexibility was crazy.”

“I thought it was spectacular. And the costumes really just put it all together as well. It just created such great visuals,” Ms. Reycraft said. “It was a great storyline as well ... never a dull moment.”

“I thought it was a great representation of all the eras that China went through,” she said.