His encounter is especially unique given the fact that Shen Yun sends seven touring groups around the world, each with its own cast of male and female dancers, and with a full, live orchestra. He didn’t only run into Shen Yun artists—he bumped into the very ones he saw perform one week later.

“The story’s amazing, yes. It’s really cool, the whole history, the whole culture and—yes, it’s great!” Huang said.

That’s why Huang felt enthusiasm for Shen Yun’s efforts to restore that ancient civilization in countries like Peru and the United States, where the artists have found artistic freedom.

“I think it’s great, a great message to the world,” Huang said. “People have beliefs and whatnot, and this sharing with the world and letting people know ‘Hey, this is what’s happening.’ The more people know about it the more they can understand it and support it.”

Shen Yun’s artists like the ones Huang met practice this discipline themselves, and say that it enhances their artistic skills and allows them to reach more profound depths of feeling and emotion in their performances.

Some of the roughly 20 vignettes in a Shen Yun performance portray real-life scenes from the persecution now going on in China, as well as the suffering, compassion, and faith that Falun Dafa practitioners endure and exhibit while undergoing these trials.

The final piece of the performance depicts an ancient Chinese legend about the Creator returning to earth and the rewards good people receive if they can overcome the temptations of evil.

Huang recognized the universal values inherent in this story, and even its significance to humanity’s very existence.

“Oh, I feel really inspired, like what they want to share from the heart,” he said. “Chinese has such—thousands and thousands years of culture and spirituality, and in one fell swoop, went like this and it was gone,” he said, referring to campaigns like China’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, aimed at wiping out China’s ancient traditions, including Buddhism and Daoism. “And now, it’s great to bring it back and to see it live and strive and we can bring it back into the culture, all over the world.”

Other pieces in Shen Yun such as the performances by the bel canto singers acknowledge the divine as well as the potential harm that atheism brings.

“I think that was pretty cool. It’s awesome!” Huang exclaimed, thinking back to the song’s lyrics in the performance. “I think, I mean it’s time—it’s time for people to get back together and bring back the spirituality again,” he said, adding that he could see “the beauty of divine beings dancing” flow through the performers on stage, which is the translation of “Shen Yun” in English.

“I could see the full essence of the being and the spirit, the divine spirit going through these young amazing dancers. You can see it flowing through them in how they express themselves. I feel it, I feel inspired and it’s really cool,” Huang said.

To Shen Yun’s artistic director and all of the artists, Huang had words of gratitude and encouragement. “Keep doing it. We will be back the next time you guys have another one and continue to share with all your creativity with the rest of the world.”