MIAMI—“I think that [Shen Yun] conveys a real sense of optimism, good fortune, happiness, and brotherhood among people,” John Proni, a physicist, said of last year’s Shen Yun performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center.

“Come [to the performance] for a good time. Come here to learn some things. And come here to see something about the beauty of the human spirit,” Mr. Proni said.

Shen Yun Performing Arts returns to Miami on April 7 and 8 for two engagements at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts—the second-largest performing arts center in the United States after Lincoln Center in New York City.

Like Mr. Proni, other theatergoers who saw last year’s performance in Miami commented on the uplifting nature of the production.

Opens Up Your Heart

Mr. Deilke, a retired commercial airline pilot, said, “I think I’ve seen theater and opera in almost all the capitals of the world, and this has been the best.”

Shen Yun “opens up your mind again, and your heart, and your imagination,” Mr. Deilke said. “It rolls it into one great big ball of happiness.”

Mrs. Deilke, who accompanied her husband to last year’s performance, said she would tell her friends, “If you miss this, you’re out of your mind.”

Retired ballet dancer and teacher Audrey Deckman, who danced with the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet, said: “I enjoyed this program so very much. They were extraordinary artists.” “[Shen Yun] makes you feel up and happy and in a good spirit.”

‘A Different China’

Dr. Basilio Garcia, M.D, recommended that people attend the performance in order to see the spiritual side of China: “They will see a different China. Many people don’t have [any] idea … of China this way. It’s very artistic, very spiritual,” he said of Shen Yun.

“Excellent, very beautiful,” Dr. Garcia said of the performance. “I think we saw China this time in a different way—coming from heaven.”

For thousands of years, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and other disciplines were at the heart of Chinese civilization, but ever since the Chinese Communist Party seized power, it has tried to eradicate the traditional Chinese culture and values through campaigns like the Cultural Revolution.

“Throughout history almost every culture looked toward the divine for inspiration,” the Shen Yun website states. “Art was meant to uplift, bringing joy to both the people who created and experienced it. It is this principle that drives Shen Yun performers and their art.”

“What a wonderful way to preserve and share 5,000 years of Chinese culture,” Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason wrote in a letter welcoming Shen Yun to the area.

‘A Key to Open Our Consciousness’

Ismael Cala, anchor and producer for CNN en Español, also attended Shen Yun’s 2014 Miami debut. Mr. Cala described the performance as a celebration. “It’s a culture that really has a lot to offer to the world,” he said.

“I would like everybody to be excited and come when the show gets to their city because it is an amazing opportunity,” he said.

Minerva Borjas, TV host of Tu Bebe and vocal coach of Telemundo Media’s The Voice Kids, said of last year’s performance: “I will definitely tell all my friends to come to this show. You will have the time of your life.”

“The beauty of peace, the beauty of this art that I saw today, should be a key to open our consciousness and say, ‘Hey, we cannot allow this to disappear, not anymore,’” Ms. Borjas said.

Reporting by NTD Television, Edie Bassen, and Louise Rothman

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

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