ST. LOUIS—For Patrick Patton, the very first dance in Shen Yun Performing Arts’s two hour performance, was like “the angels coming down and bringing God to earth.” This was how he saw the dance “Salvation and Renewal.”

Trumpets herald the arrival of celestial maidens, according to Shen Yun’s program book, and soon in a blaze of light, the Creator descends and calls divine beings to come to Earth.

Mr. Patton very much enjoyed seeing the spirituality come through in the performance because, although humanity’s many cultures are diverse in so many ways, he saw a unity of all people “through the heavens and the earth,” the financial analyst at Scott Air Force base in St. Louis said.

Mr. Patton and his wife wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day by doing something really different and so the couple attended Peabody Opera House to celebrate.

New York-based Shen Yun celebrates the heritage of traditional Chinese culture with song, instrumental pieces, and dance—most especially with dance.

Mr. Patton was impressed with the beauty of the dancers, their talent and artistry, as well as the joy he felt from them, “the happiness, the pleasantry of life.”

Classical Chinese dance, capable of dramatic storytelling, is used to communicate stories of China’s legends, from its earliest past right on up to modern times.

The dance “Monks and the Red Guards” captured Mr. Patton’s attention as it tells some of China’s 20th century history. Set in the 1960s, the Communist Party employs Red Guards to burn books and raze temples. Yet at one monastery, the monks use supernormal abilities to thwart them, with a little help from heaven.

Mr. Patton wishes something like that would happen in real life: “We all wish, I think, China would go away from atheism and back to spirituality.”

For this reason he hopes that Shen Yun continues its mission. “It must keep going and bring in happiness to the world, bring us together.” He’s hoping that people can see “how beautiful the world can be.”

For him, the performance, besides being beautiful, “enlightens you think of the world in a different way.”

Reporting by Sally Sun and Sharon Kilarski

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.

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.