VANCOUVER—Bill Challenger, a manufacturer, and Rose Challenger, a business co-owner, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 12.

“I was very impressed,” Mr. Challenger said. “The choreography, the dancing, the culture was very interesting, and something probably that if you went to China, you wouldn’t see today.”

“I think the biggest takeaway was the message that was being delivered,” Mr. Challenger said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear that message. ... The message [was] about spirituality, kindness, a belief in a Divine Spirit or Creator. That’s a good message.”

Also watching the matinee performance were Bernard Rowe, a retired business owner, and his goddaughter Veronica Miranda, a high school teacher.

“I was so impressed by the show,” Ms. Miranda said. “I loved ... the creativity, the beauty. I also loved the message and the fact that that’s the first time I’ve seen that bringing up God and sort of the freedom, the sense of who they want to be.”

“I was absolutely astonished at the agility and the grace of the [performers],” he said. “What I was really impressed with in this day and age was the absolutely solid and unapologetic statement of religion and divine presence and divine creation. So congratulations. Canada needs this. Keep on.”