VANCOUVER—This time around, Douglas Teather, a production technician in film and live music, was on the other side of the stage.

Mr. Teather attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ 2014 production at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday evening, and said he found the show “amazing.”

“Seeing it from backstage is very different from out front. It is pretty nice,” he said in an interview during the intermission.

“It’s very colourful, lots of motion.”

Shen Yun performances feature award-winning classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra that combines traditional Chinese instruments with a classical Western orchestra, groundbreaking animated backdrops, and hundreds of colourful handmade costumes.

“It’s beautiful ... really amazing. I can’t wait for the next half,” said Mr. Teather.

New York-based Shen Yun was formed in 2006 with the mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, the essence of which was lost as a result of various communist campaigns, most notably the Cultural Revolution.

Each Shen Yun performance includes at least 20 presentations of live orchestral music and dance. Many of these are story-based dances, which dramatically portray legendary stories of China’s past and present.

A few of the present-day pieces depict the plight of practitioners of Falun Gong in their peaceful resistance to persecution by the Chinese regime. Making this part of the performance was something Mr. Teather found laudable.

“I was impressed—very interesting.”

Reporting by Ryan Moffatt and Joan Delaney

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.