“Just the grace of the dancers … and the beauty of the women and their costuming, and the colour. And just to appreciate all the history that they’re portraying over all these years,” said Mr. Aune.

The couple, now retired, were owners of a senior care centre, the Northcest Care Centre, for close to three decades.

“I thought it was really beautiful,” said Ms. Aune of the performance.

“The costuming and the dancing—[the costumes are] just so flowing and colourful,” she added, referring to the hundreds of colourful hand-made costumes in the performance.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was formed by a group of leading classical Chinese artists that aim to revive China’s divinely inspired culture. The company travels the world bringing its portrayal of 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture to audiences worldwide.

However, the performance cannot currently be enjoyed in China, where the traditional culture has been all but destroyed after decades of communist rule.

“The fact that they can’t do this program in their own country—that says a lot over the last [few decades] of rule there, that they can’t perform this beautiful history that they’ve got so they have to come to the Western world in order for us to learn about it,” Mr. Aune said.

Ms. Aune added: “I just think it’s tragic that they can’t do that in their own country. … They have no freedom; so much oppression.”

With reporting by Ryan Moffatt

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

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.