NEWARK, N.J.—For a brilliant civilization lasting more than 5,000 years to have been decimated in less than 70 under communist rule, China couldn’t have a better global ambassador than Shen Yun.

Lawyer Jose Ortiz saw the New York-based dance performance in Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center on the afternoon of April 23.

He glowed about “the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful choreography” and was especially taken by the dance of the Jurchen, portraying the regional dance and costume of China’s wild north.

“It represents a region beyond the [Great Wall of China] to the north,” Mr. Ortiz said. “I think that stands out for me. And the other thing is the variety and the dancing of the different regions. It’s very inspiring.”

Through classical Chinese dance and live orchestral music, Shen Yun displays to audiences worldwide China’s heritage before the era of communism. Under the communist regime, China’s faith-based traditions have been under attack, a fact that Shen Yun points out in its performances.

Mr. Ortiz could see this was “the reason why China would never, ever allow that to go on in Mainland China. It’s really a criticism of the communist regime,” he said.

He looks to Shen Yun’s mission of cultural preservation with admiration and hope.

“I like the fact that this is something that’s been preserved for future generations,” he said. “Culture will always remain.”

Shen Yun performers “believe in a higher power, they believe in hell. And right now, they cannot display that publicly,” he said. “This show can’t even be played in China, as we understand. So there’s no freedom of religion. So that’s very difficult as something that we take for granted here.”

To the performers, he relayed this message:

“You guys are incredible. I want to wish you all great success and keep doing what you’re doing. And the choreographing is beautiful, the music is beautiful, and the storyline is also beautiful. Keep on doing great work.”

Reporting by Frank Liang and Lily Yu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.