ATLANTA---Real estate agent Mary Taylor had wanted to see Shen Yun Performing Arts for years since seeing the advertisements. But this year, she thought to herself that she just had to come, so got tickets for herself and her companion Lynn Morrison.

“I’m so glad I had that idea,” Taylor said.

“I really loved it.”

Morrison, who works with Taylor, agreed, saying the performance was outstanding.

The pair watched Shen Yun at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 10.

The classical Chinese dance company is currently on its 2019 world tour, wherein six equally-sized contingents are set to travel to more than 130 cities to showcase authentic Chinese culture through music and dance.

While Taylor has seen plenty of ballet, she has never seen a classical Chinese dance performance before. But she was blown away by the New York-based Shen Yun dancers’ skill and technique.

“You can tell they put so much effort, so many hours into it,” Taylor said. “[They’re] very great performers.”

In particular, Taylor was left in awe after seeing the female performers balance large porcelain urns on their heads while turning and gliding in the  classical Chinese dance vignette titled “Porcelain in the Balance.”

Classical Chinese dance has been passed down and refined over thousands of years and includes a complex system of movements and expressions, including difficult flips and tumbling techniques.

But it wasn’t just the dancers’ technical mastery that drew admiration, it was also what was on the performers’ faces.

“They’re always smiling, which is really good,” said Morrison.

“[You could tell] that they love what they’re doing so much and they love to entertain people,” said Taylor.

The effect of the dancers went beyond satisfying the senses though. The pair both felt something extra being exuded by the performers.

“There’s so much energy coming off that stage,” Morrison said. “You can just feel the energy... And they also display a lot of emotion which I think is absolutely outstanding.”

“You can feel the elevation in their dance,” said Taylor.

Morrison encouraged the dancers to keep up the good work, adding that he couldn’t praise the performers enough.

“We'll be back again next year,” Taylor said.