WASHINGTON, D.C.—The name “Shen Yun” means “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” and for Andrew Scheler at The Kennedy Center Opera House, that divinity really came through.

“The dancing was amazing, the music was amazing, and the spirit behind it—just beautiful,” Mr. Scheler said after the Shen Yun Performing Arts matinee on Jan. 28.

“I’m not equal to the task of this question,” said Mr. Scheler, who practices tai chi himself and understands how movement can be spiritual in nature. “The way they moved was quite divine.”

“Their control and precision and athleticism, that’s the spirit behind it,” Mr. Scheler said. “I don’t think they could do what they do without a connection, a very strong connection to the divine.”

“I thought it was just delightful, from beginning to end,” he said.

Also in the audience was Frank Cross, a project manager in the Food and Drug Administration, who felt inspired by the sense of divinity in Shen Yun as well.

Mr. Cross described a story set in the modern day, where calamity strikes, but then the divine intervenes.

“And it was all about love and grace and forgiveness, and hope,” he said. “I like it, it was very well portrayed, brought tears my eyes.”

“I have it all in my mind. I got all my mind everything I can see,” Mr. Cross said.

“Calm, and grace, it was nice.”