NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.—Mrs. Kaye Birt is currently retired and spends most of her time traveling. She used to work as a banker, real estate agent and flight attendant. On Thursday night, Jan. 22, she saw Shen Yun for the first time at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina.

“It is beautiful,” Mrs. Brit said about Shen Yun, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company.

Based in New York, Shen Yun enjoys artistic freedom, and can present its exhilarating performances independent of the current regime in China. The company travels the world each year, presenting audience members with dances and music performances inspired from China’s rich culture.

Mrs. Birt was surprised that Shen Yun Performing Arts cannot be seen in China.

“I cannot believe they will not show this in China. They are missing out so much ... that’s their history, and they should all be able to see that,” she said.

The performance number “The Power of Compassion” depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa meditators in China stood out for Mrs. Birt. Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice practiced by millions in China today. These practitioners face harsh persecution from the current communist regime.

“People don’t realize that’s happening,” she said.

Mrs. Birt has visited China before and developed a rapport with the Chinese people she met.

“Those people cared about us, and we cared about them,” she said.

She said although the Chinese people she met didn’t usually openly express what they feel, there was one thing they told her after she developed a good rapport with them.

“We were able to talk and everyone of them said ‘freedom, we wanted freedom,’” she said.

Another aspect of the Shen Yun performance Mrs. Birt appreciated was the wholesomeness of the show.

She thought the costumes were beautiful and presented the beauty of the female dancers in a wholesome, traditional manner. This resonated with her since she grew up in a traditional upbringing.

Mrs. Birt said, “We were kind of shy … and we weren’t very forward, and this just presented that, how wonderful, how wholesome it all is. ”

Mrs. Birt said she plans on going back to China in the future.

With reporting by Ben Yang and Thai Ton

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.