At the Palace Theatre in Stamford, the Mattinson family watched Shen Yun for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

“It’s great entertainment for the whole family,” said Ian Mattinson.

Ian is managing director at Fitch Solutions, a company that carries out research and analysis that inform credit risk and strategy solutions. He was accompanied by his wife Nancy and two daughters 14-year-old Hary and 11-year-old Ana.

“I love it,” said Nancy, a teacher’s assistant. “It’s just impressive. The dancing, the quality of the music, the costumes, everything was beautiful.”

“We try to expose our family to lots of different cultures. And this is an easy way for us without having to go too far. My daughter also does dance,” said Ian.

“We are all super impressed,” he said.

“It was very inspirational and just amazing,” she said.

“It was an excellent [performance],” said Nicolo, a financial advisor. He praised the colorful costumes and the choreography.

Each year Shen Yun presents a whole new performance.

Marie, a legal assistant, was equally effusive in her praise of Shen Yun.

“I just can’t say how much I loved it. The talent alone of these dancers is fantastic. They’re just outstanding. And I just loved every moment,” she said.

“In the United States, we don’t have that long history,” he said, still amazed upon realizing just how old Chinese civilization was.

Marie was astounded that many of the performers were able to escape from China, find freedom in the United States, and pursue their love of dance and culture. We were able to learn about the struggles and tensions under which many Chinese live in their homeland, she said.