PHOENIX—Bob Auray, the president of an investment firm, and his wife Marion celebrated a belated Valentine’s Day by attending Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Phoenix Orpheum on Feb. 19.

The couple agreed that it was “a journey of beauty and a wonderful Valentine’s week present.”

“It was a beautiful performance with beautiful messages,” Mr. Auray said enthusiastically. “The God-given human spirit, the athleticism, the beauty of the performers and costumes, the dance conception—all of it! I’m glad we came.”

Now in the safety of America, these New York-based artists are determined to bring China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture back to life and share with everyone “beauty before communism.”

“The story of one hundred million people being repressed and their desire for freedom—that’s concerning. I was somewhat aware of it, but this [performance] has brought it home,” he said.

“[Shen Yun] is special. It is a very unique program because it’s an expression of the arts before communism. [In China,] they don’t have the freedom to do this right now,” Mrs. Auray added.

She reflected on how things are in the United States and said “it’s a warning for us of what could come.”

Also in the audience was Damian Creamer, the founder and CEO of StrongMind. He, too, was amazed by the beauty and spirituality of Shen Yun.

“The choreography, the dancers, the music, the orchestra—everything was unprecedented and beautiful! I would like to see more of it because it was magnificent,” he exclaimed.

“All of that was amazing but there was definitely a message behind the music,” he said. “It was trying to convey to the audience the traditional values. It is making sure that we return back to who we are and not be led around by what’s going on in the world at this point in time.”

Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine classical Chinese and Western instruments.

“We’ve lost our way and treat each other pretty poorly,” he expressed. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to seek out the truth and be compassionate, truthful, and tolerant—these are virtues that we as human beings need to remember.”

“[Shen Yun presents] a beautiful message about how to reset and where to go to find the truth. It’s beautiful to contemplate a different world—a world that is more serene. It was an unbelievable show.”