SYDNEY, Australia—Hills Shire Councillor Jane Grevtseva said she was amazed by Shen Yun Performing Arts as it took the stage at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on March 24.

“It’s a beautiful performance ... very beautiful dress and orchestra. It’s amazing,” she said.

And it wasn’t just a feast for the eyes; it was also a learning experience.

“I’m surprised to learn about the history of Chinese culture 5,000 years ago. It’s just a huge, huge experience in history and culture. It’s a very deep culture,” Ms. Grevtseva said.

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional culture from “China before communism” and showcase its beauty to the world through dance and music.

The biggest personal impact, she shared, was the emphasis on freedom.

“[Freedom is] always an important part of our society,” she said.

“This is human rights, and we should follow our beliefs and what we think is right.”

Penrith City Councillor Glenn Gardiner said the performance was fantastic and far exceeded his expectations.

The values portrayed in the storytelling stood out to him.

“I like the story in a few of the scenes, but the one about you reap what you sow, I thought that was very powerful. And the way it was performed and the way it was conducted was also entertaining. I liked it.”

Mr. Gardiner believes the cultural and historical elements presented in Shen Yun carry real relevance for today’s society. “There’s modern truth in ancient wisdom, of course, and tonight showed that.”

He was deeply impacted by the theme of resilience connected to the Falun Gong spiritual practice, which continues to face persecution by the regime.

“It’s eye-opening in regard to the comprehensiveness and the wholeness of the dance. It just amazes me because there’s so many techniques within the dance and the performance itself,” she said.

Ms. Chuang was particularly struck by the dancers’ flexibility and lightning-fast costume changes.

She said the storytelling sets Shen Yun apart from other performances.

“Yeah, it made me aware of how diverse Chinese culture is and what is actually allowed to be performed in China and what is not,” she said.

“What I loved about it is the themes ... and how they taught us to be good, to be ethical, to have high standards. And pretty much every single [piece] related to that,” she said.

She enjoyed the performance that highlighted how phones and technology are making people lose their connection with reality, which is negatively impacting society.

“We’re stuck [on our phones] all the time ... So this is sad,” she said.

Ms. Accordi, who is from Poland, noted surprising similarities with her own background, which made her feel more connected with Chinese culture.

“Our history is very different, but we have very, very similar values ... I feel that I understand [Chinese] culture even more.”