AUSTIN, Texas—When audience members from different spiritual and cultural backgrounds see Shen Yun Performing Arts, they often say they feel a familiarity with the performance, although they are strangers to Chinese culture.

“I learnt a lot! We are supposed to seek to understand other cultures, and I think [Shen Yun] helped me understand more,” said Robin Spinelli, a registered nurse since 1989, who now teaches high school students.

“Incredible! The dancing was wonderful and very much a different style than I’ve ever seen before,” Mr. Spinelli said.

“The light always wins. The light is always greater than the dark,” Ms. Spinelli said.

She said the performance left her with a sense of hope.

“We need to have hope. And at the end, the last scene was very hopeful, because it shows that light does overcome,” Ms. Spinelli said. “The light of the world just overcomes all the things that try to come on us. If we just don’t give up.”

Ms. Spinelli said she loved the orchestra, adding she “thought the music was exquisite.”

One instrument that shone under the spotlight was the two-stringed erhu, an ancient Chinese instrument.

“The music was fantastic! I really enjoyed the solo,” Mr. Spinelli said, referring to the erhu. “That was really impressive.”

“I enjoyed the way the scene went from the stage into the screen, and back, I thought that those are really special effects,” Ms. Spinelli said.