NEW YORK—Life for jewelry designer Judy Adler is a collection of beautiful fragments—the texture of a fabric here, an antique object there. But after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts, at the Lincoln Center on the afternoon of Sunday Jan. 11, Adler said she felt transported to a world made entirely of beauty.

“I zone into it and I’m so happy,” Ms. Adler said. “I just feel tranquil and loving.”

New York-based Shen Yun combines traditional Chinese dance, music blending east and west, an animated backdrop, and brilliant costumes to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Traditional Chinese culture is said to be imparted by the heavens, but under communist rule that culture was nearly lost. The essence of traditional Chinese culture—ideals like benevolence and respect for the divine—are in the art forms and the stories Shen Yun tells.

“It’s all lovely, beautiful. It transcends you into a place that feels good,” Ms. Adler said.

The stories range from ancient dynasties to stories based on current events. Ms. Adler said she was familiar with Falun Dafa, so she found it powerful to see the spiritual practice included in one of the stories.

Falun Dafa is a practice that teaches truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. These principles have helped hundreds of millions of Chinese people understand and return to the essence of Chinese culture in the modern day, according to Shen Yun’s website.

“The storytelling is interesting, it’s definitely captivating,” Ms. Adler said.

As an artist, Ms. Adler noticed every aspect of the production and drew inspiration from its artistry.

The choreography and classical Chinese dance were lovely. The costumes were brilliant—the female dancers wore jingling silver jewelry in one Hmong ethnic dance, spun sparkling pink handkerchiefs to mimic plum blossoms in another—and the backdrop was fascinating, Ms. Adler said.

Ms. Adler noted she wanted to see more of the digital, animated backdrop that let the dancers move seamlessly from screen to stage and back.

“It’s powerful,” Ms. Adler said. “I’m staring at it and I’m not thinking about anything but watching what’s in front of me.”

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.