HOUSTON—Dance has been a part of Veena Shetty’s life since she was just 3 years old. For 40 years, she has danced and performed classical Indian dance, a medium she feels very connected to.

In the classical Chinese dance of Shen Yun Performing Arts, Ms. Shetty, a teacher, saw hope and new life.

“It’s beautiful. I’m going to watch it again and again every year,” she said at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts on Dec. 30. “I’m going to dream about it tonight.”

She was touched by many moments in the performance, but recalling the shining Udumbara flowers in one dance, she said, “They brought out the softness of the flower, the blooming of the flower. It’s just beautiful. It’s very significant, the blooming, and the hope. The hope for the future.”

The “Mystical Udumbara” dance tells of a story in ancient Buddhist scripture, where the flower blooms once every 3,000 years and heralds the arrival of “The Holy King Who Turns the Wheel.”

“It’s hope for the future. I’m starting a new life, so I think that’s what it is for me, a new beginning, a new life,” she said. “That’s what I took from it.”

New York-based Shen Yun seeks to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture, according to its website, and performs dances that bring to life myths, legends, and beliefs from traditional Chinese culture.

The orchestra was also deep and soulful, Ms. Shetty added. “The music was so moving; it just touched me somewhere deep in my soul ... Something deep in my soul moved.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Catherine Yang

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.