HOUSTON—Sarah Cameron, owner of a wellness center in New York, found a rare sense of tranquility watching Shen Yun Performing Arts with friends and family in Houston at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 26.

“There was really a sense of peacefulness,” Ms. Cameron said.

“Loved it,” said Ms. Cameron’s father, David Cameron, an oil company manager. “Peaceful, calming, beautiful … very pleasant experience.

The New York-based Shen Yun was established by artists from around the world with the mission of reviving the divinely inspired traditional Chinese culture. For 8 years now, Shen Yun has been touring globally, bringing 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life through music and dance.

Ms. Cameron, who has dance experience herself, found her interest piqued seeing the movements unique to classical Chinese dance performed by Shen Yun, and the range of costumes they wore.

“The arm movements were very enhanced,” Ms. Cameron said. “The overall feeling was that it was just tranquil.”

Classical Chinese dance is a vast and independent dance system refined through thousands of years, encompassing hundreds of specific postures and movements. The deep cultural traditions contained in the dance allow the movements to be richly expressive, according to the website.

“I thought that it was beautiful, and I just loved the fact that it was educational along with very aesthetically pleasing,” Ms. Cameron said.

The stories told through Shen Yun’s dances range from a creation myth to scenes from modern day China. Ms. Cameron said she appreciated and was surprised to learn that the traditional values presented in Shen Yun are not allowed in China today.

“And they’re talking about truth and the meaning of life,” Ms. Cameron said. One of the specific dances Ms. Cameron mentioned touched on the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual meditation discipline founded in China that has been persecuted by the Chinese regime since 1999.

Even through the depicted struggle, “there was just a sense of peacefulness,” Ms. Cameron said.

“I think it’s really important in today’s time, actually, to be contemplating things like that,” Ms. Cameron said of the values she saw. “It’s something that’s very relevant.”

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.