WASHINGTON—Bob Denton, a geologist, said the spiritual energy “filled the room” after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., on April 24.

One of Shen Yun’s missions is to revive traditional Chinese culture through music and dance.

The company’s website says, “Throughout history, almost every culture looked toward the divine for inspiration. Art was meant to uplift, bringing joy to both the people who created and experienced it.”

Harriet Igel, a retired therapist, said, “As Americans, we only hear about communism, and about what’s going on now, as opposed to the ancient Chinese forms of culture that [Shen Yun] is showing us.”

“I really like this,” she said.

Paul Schleicher, a computer engineer, said the last piece that showed a Buddha coming down from the heavens to divert tragedies taking place on earth was very moving.

“Acknowledging that there’s a presence looking over us, and you need to atone for your actions, ... You can definitely relate to what they were saying,” he said.

Ernesto Gumbs, a captain in the U.S. army, said the message he took away was something he thought a lot of Americans could relate to.

“One of the common values [in Shen Yun], if you don’t hold true to belief and hold true to who you are, and true to your culture or true to what you believe, then your foundation will be crumbled by any type of lies or deceit,” he said.

Reporting by Sally Sun, Sherrry Dong, Lisa Fan, and Holly Kellum.

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

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