OXFORD, U.K.—Many people are often surprised when they learn that Shen Yun Performing Arts is unable to perform in China. After seeing the performance, John and Sophie Steele had to ask why a government would feel threatened by a group of people who want to do the right thing.

John Steele, who was awarded an OBE after an illustrious career in sport and is now a company director, shared that the dance portraying the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners resonated with him.

“The oppression, which the narrator said still exists today, that resonated [with me],” said Mr. Steele.

“I don’t know how anyone can find anything like that remotely threatening ... They want to do the right thing. So it’s interesting to think that somebody wants to oppress that, and I don’t really understand why that would be,” said Mrs. Steele, an occupational therapist.

“We know in this culture—ancient Chinese medicine, history, beliefs—they seem to go back a lot further than ours, and there’s a wisdom to them. It is very sad to see them trying to be erased—hopefully, unsuccessfully—by the regime. But I think we could learn a lot from the Chinese ancient culture,” said Mr. Steele.

“There’s a lot of tradition here, but there’s lots of history as well. Just learning about the past is really important. Bring some of that back,” said Mrs. Steele.

“There’s not anything I don’t like,” said Mr. Steele.

“I’m really loving the tradition and the color. The movements are amazing—mesmerizing actually,” added Mrs. Steele.

“The way that the dancers coordinate with each other is really amazing. It has to be very precise. I think it’s really amazing to watch,” expressed Mrs. Steele.