WASHINGTON—Justin Won, a computer consultant who runs his own company, said Shen Yun Performing Arts makes him proud to be Asian.

“It is impressive that the Chinese culture is the oldest civilization,” said Mr. Won, who is of Korean heritage. He saw Shen Yun perform at the Kennedy Center Opera House Saturday, Jan. 25.

“All the developments in the arts, science, culture, and spirituality—so many of those things originated from the first civilization in China. It makes me proud to be part of that,” said Mr. Won

Through performance of classical Chinese dance and music, the New York-based Shen Yun aims to revive China’s glorious civilization. Much of China’s rich heritage was nearly lost in China under communist rule. Even today, Shen Yun cannot perform in China.

“I am so happy we have the opportunity to see this here in this country,” said Mr. Won.

Mr. Won said he thought the performance was beautiful, “really spectacular costumes and choreography,” he said.

Shen Yun dancers are accompanied by a full Western orchestra along with Chinese instruments. Two solo sopranos and one erhu virtuoso also performed Saturday afternoon along with the dancers. The erhu is a two-stringed instrument played with a bow, similar to a violin.

Mr. Won especially liked the erhu. “That was lovely,” he said of the piece. The erhu is particularly expressive, according to the Shen Yun website. It is “capable of imitating sounds from chirping birds to neighing horses.” When played in its lowest and middle range, the erhu can be stirring and somber.

“The music was amazing,” said Mr. Won. He attended the performance with Alexia Prat, who works doing web design for a government contractor. She said she also enjoyed the performance.

“It was amazing, the variety, the costumes, the colors, synchronicity, I think it was very great,” said Ms. Prat.

“It would be a shame if the old culture, traditions were lost. It is great to keep it alive,” said Mr. Won.

Reporting by Elizabeth Zhang and Nicholas Zifcak

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.