LONDON—Writer and teacher Atalanta Georgopoulos watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Eventim Apollo on Jan. 11.

“It’s magical, it’s very beautiful,” Ms. Georgopoulos said. “You get a sense of China’s history, which is wonderful. The dancing ... it feels complex and simple at the same time. So I’m loving the colors and the music, and I’m finding it quite emotional. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Since its inception in 2006, New York-based Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally-sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, realizing its mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and show the world what China was like before communism through classical Chinese dance and music.

Ms. Georgopoulos said that what made Shen Yun’s performance so important in her eyes was “their beauty, and the sort of purity of their movements and the expression.”

“I think it’s very, very special,” she added, commenting on the contrast between the performers’ purity and Chinese history’s complexity.  She also spoke of the importance of ancient wisdom.

“I think it’s great. I think we need to go back to the ancient wisdom,” Ms. Georgopoulos said, adding that Shen Yun “is removing ... how the modern world is taking away some big values.”

Shen Yun’s program also includes story-based dances, which she enjoyed.

“I think it’s very sweet [and] done very beautifully,” she observed.