CLEVELAND—“I thought it was excellent,” said financial adviser Michael J. O'Connor after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts this evening at the State Theater.

New York-based Shen Yun brings consummate beauty to the world as it explores 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and presents it to the world in a music and dance program. Both the songs and dance pieces are imbued with the values of a culture the Chinese traditionally held is semi-divine in its origin.

“I’m actually pretty familiar with Chinese culture. Over the years I watched a lot of documentaries and things about Chinese history, music, and dance,” Mr. O'Connor said.

However after seeing Shen Yun, he said, “I didn’t realize what ... a spiritual and religious-oriented people the Chinese have been for most of their history.”

One of the short mini-dramas, presented through classical Chinese dance, depicts the current struggle of Falun Gong in China.

O'Connor further commented, “I know a little bit about Falun Gong, but not much. I’m going to see if I can learn some more to find out why it is being persecuted over there in China.”

Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is an ancient practice of mind, body, and spirit that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist regime since 1999.

In speaking about the quality of the performance, Mr. O'Connor said: “I thought it was very enjoyable,”

“I’m very impressed with the uniformity of dancers, the grace, the calmness of the music, the gentleness of the people. Very impressive,” he said.

With reporting by Stacey Tang and Andrew Darin

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.