“The message that I received is essentially the idea of karma, the idea of good actions beget their own reward, essentially. Those who do good in the world will see good returned unto them, and you should strive to do good and evil does not pay, it does not come out well for those who do evil,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.

“I think that it’s very important to keep hold of traditions. Don’t get rid of traditions if you don’t understand what they were originally, and unless you have a very good reason as to why a tradition should no longer be followed,” he said.

“It makes me a little sad, a bit morose. This is going to sound a little counterintuitive, but I’m happy that they’re able to keep the traditions of traditional China alive even though the physical geography of where it was originally practiced no longer accepts it,” he said.

“I think you all were amazing, and I think that what you do takes a lot of courage and a lot of skill, and a lot of ability, and you all did an amazing job, and I hope that more people get to see all in the future,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.

The CCP’s influence has also reached outside of China. From performance cancellations and sabotage to paying Western media to slander the performance, the CCP’s fear of Shen Yun is evident.

“I don’t see the purpose of why Shen Yun is ostracized or why it was stopped. The messages, the tradition that they portray from traditional China, I don’t know why it isn’t as prevalent in today’s current culture,” he said.

“I thought it was a beautiful performance, and they did a very good job at telling the stories,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.