“It’s a message of freedom. It’s lovely,” Pnermatikos said after seeing Shen Yun for the first time on Good Friday in Adelaide’s Festival Theatre.

“People—no matter who they are, where they come from—have a right to express their identity and their culture,” she said.

“It is lovely to watch ... I think because it looks back in terms of classical Chinese culture, looks at different ethnic groups, and their forms of dance.”

Pnermatikos said she has visited China twice before and seen performances there in the People’s Hall. But she said of Shen Yun, “I don’t see that in Chinese culture in China. I mean, you see other things in terms of their acrobatics and their routines … but this is unique in terms of ethnic and cultural expression.”

“I’d recommend it to all people who love music and culture,” Pnermatikos said. “I would say it’s important to come and see this element of dance and culture, which you’re not necessarily exposed to anywhere else.”

Also in the audience was retired Flinders University earth scientist Dr. Gordon Stanger with his wife.

“[I’ve] never seen anything like it,” Dr. Stanger said. “The dance was ... I don’t know how humans actually do some of that stuff, it is just amazing … I hate to think how many hours they had to practice to do that.”

“Absolutely amazed. It was so beautiful and they are so alive and fit and healthy and active,” she said.

Dr. Stanger said they were amazed that the performers “were able to, and felt free to, comment against what is happening in China now.”

“I didn’t expect that but I’m happy to see it,” he said of one of the scenes in the performance where a young girl was persecuted by the CCP to death for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned by the regime for its popularity. The faith teaches practitioners to strive to live the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

“We were talking with some other people from China, and I was saying to them, ‘The Chinese Communist Party will not last forever.’ We are Christians. We pray for love and peace,” Dr. Stanger said.

“To all those people in China who have known only oppression, we wish them well and we pray for them.”

The couple encouraged more Australians to experience Shen Yun for themselves.

Dr. Stanger said seeing Shen Yun will reveal to you that, “China is not what you think—it’s more than that.”