LOS ANGELES—Courtney Newman, a former model and ballet dancer, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 25 at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

“Just that opening curtain alone, you could tell the audience just was gasping because of how beautiful the presentation of everything is,” Ms. Newman said.

Shen Yun is based in New York and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“Their posture and all of their movements are so delicate and graceful. Watching them perform, even the gentlemen, they have a world of talent and strength. Watching them leap so high into the air, they’re very in sync with each other, which is beautiful to watch, because you know how many rehearsals they’ve put into that to be able to give us such a good performance today,” she said.

As someone who has loved being on stage, Ms. Newman was struck by Shen Yun’s beautiful costumes.

She said that the “Water Sleeves” dance made her “feel a lot of beautiful emotions. Their sleeves and the coloring of the costumes, the silks are just so beautiful under the lighting.”

With 5,000 years of history and literature to draw from, Shen Yun is able to put on an all-new production every year.

“Each story is so unique. There was a lot of very adorable, funny moments throughout the show,” she said.

Ms. Newman remarked on the orchestra’s “powerful presence.”

“You can really feel the emotions that they’re trying to bring out with each movement,” she said.

Aaron Silverstein, owner of a videography business, was also in the audience.

He was particularly impressed with Shen Yun’s use of its digital backdrop.

“The backdrop was amazing. When the first character went underneath, and then it popped into the virtual world, it was amazing. And every time it happened, the timing was so perfect. It was unbelievable,” he said.

The versatility of this patented technology allows the set to change scenes in the blink of an eye, giving the stage endless possibilities.

“To me, as a video editor, you have to have things exactly in sync. But for it to be a live performance, and for it to be synced so nicely, it was just incredible,” Mr. Silverstein said.