STAMFORD, Conn.—Stanislas Pique was delighted to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Palace Theatre on May 10.

Mr. Pique, an IT consultant and associate director of technology delivery at Accenture, said his experience was “fantastic” and the performers “look very professional, very gifted.”

He thanked the entire production team for making Shen Yun so wonderful. “There’s a very elaborate team behind the performers.”

“It was like a magic show,” he said. “I’ve seen multiple Broadway shows. I’ve seen multiple dance shows. My cousin is a professional dancer, so I know how hard it is.

“I admire [the performers] very much. It’s the synchronization, the acrobatics, the choreography, the creativity,” he said.

“It’s very obvious if you have an eye for it. As for the background—I’ve never seen this before. The background plays into the foreground. It’s really well done, very well done,” Mr. Pique said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture from “China before communism.” Throughout its 5,000-year history, China’s culture has been embedded with spiritual meaning. Mr. Pique picked up on the spiritual message in the dances.

He could feel the spirit of the dancers. “Their whole heart is for the audience, the sacrifice. You can feel that. It’s only through the banners that I started to realize there was something to do with ... the freedom of speech in China. I didn’t know. I had no idea,” Mr. Pique said. He said he was researching the persecution of people in China that is happening today.

He was referring to “The Steadfast Heart,” which tells of the persecution of believers in Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong. According to the program, “In 1999, the communist regime, fearing the practice’s popularity, launched a brutal campaign to wipe it out.” Falun Gong is a mind and body practice that teaches qigong exercises alongside the cultivation of virtues to become a truthful, compassionate, and tolerant person.

“My AI just explained it all,” he said. But he liked how Shen Yun presented the story in a beautiful way. “Yes. It’s subtle, it’s not in your face. I thought for a second when I saw the first student being oppressed, I thought they were referring to maybe something happening under Mao [the first communist leader in China], and then when I researched on my phone, I realized it’s current. I didn’t know.

“It’s a current phenomenon, but it’s an inspirational story, isn’t it? For sure.”

Mr. Pique thought Shen Yun and its performers truly speak to the heart. “The Chinese culture is 5,000 years old, so there’s a lot to take from. There’s lots of wisdom.”

He got the message of “freedom and belief in your faith.”  His message was “to reinforce your faith, for sure.”