DALLAS—Steve Babick, the mayor of Carrollton, and his wife, Peggy Babick, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on Feb. 10 at Eisemann Center.

“It was 5,000 years’ worth of history all in a show. I think it really focuses on not only the culture—whether it’s ethnic or the regions—but also the faith that they have,” Mr. Babick said.

“It was unbelievable. It was so beautiful and I learned so much ... I learned about the way the culture has evolved over the years,” Ms. Babick said.

Although Shen Yun is sharing the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, audience members often find that they share more in common with this culture than they thought.

Shen Yun uses classical Chinese dance to tell stories from China’s five millennia. Its dance stories also portray the modern true story of Falun Dafa practitioners being persecuted for their faith in China. Falun Dafa is a peaceful practice that teaches the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

“There’s a lot of conflict that we saw on the screen or up on the stage there—the conflict of today, where there’s some level of oppression and so forth. But inside your soul, you’re the light within you,” he said.

He added that with freedom, people are happier.

“That warmth, that light, and so forth comes alive when people can express themselves and can celebrate together; where they can worship, where they can celebrate, where they can really feast, as well, and just enjoy each other. The human side of everything ultimately overcomes the evil.”

“The singers were amazing. That was beautiful. They were just very spectacular. It’s very emotional when you listen to them,” Ms. Babick said.

As the mayor of the music capital of Texas, Mr. Babick expressed his wish for Shen Yun to continue to prosper in the arts.

“I would encourage them to continue to follow their passion, to express themselves through dance, to teach us all because we all learn while we’re watching it.”