New York-based Shen Yun produces an all-new performance each year, meaning audiences can expect to see new dances, new stories, new original compositions performed by Shen Yun’s orchestra blending East and West, new couture costumes based on traditional Chinese dress, and more.

It’s a performance upon which the arts community in Atlanta has heaped high praise.

“You would think of perfection as mechanical, but the movements on stage—everything was extremely graceful, and it communicated the heart of the spiritual belief that is the theme of the show,” Mr. Johnson said.

William King, a Grammy award-winning musician and co-founder of The Commodores, said he would have loved to meet the composers of Shen Yun, who he thought deserved their own Grammy.

“I loved the dancing, and the music was incredible,” he said.  “I would say it deserves a Grammy. I was really mesmerized by it. It would have loved to have met the conductor and the composers.”

Mr. King and his wife, Deborah, a retired charity executive, had decided to celebrate their anniversary by attending Shen Yun.

“The costuming, the dance, the culture—everything about it was beautiful,” Mr. King said. “The screen behind it was a thrill to me—I really loved that. How they mixed the animation and real action together was incredible—it was worth coming just to see that.”

Tracy Beaton, who owns a music academy, said she had waited nine years to see Shen Yun because her husband had mistaken it for a China-based show that would have been affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.

Upon learning that many of Shen Yun’s founders were artists who fled religious persecution in China and settled in America in pursuit of freedom of expression, the family happily attended a performance and said they were moved and uplifted.

“It was beautiful. Stunning. I loved the spiritual feeling behind it, and I loved the professionalism. I just feel happy and uplifted from being here,” Mrs. Beaton said.

“It made me appreciate my freedom and [think about] how far I would go to protect my belief. These are divine beings expressing themselves through an art form that is absolutely stunning.”

Mr. Beaton said he cried while witnessing some of the stories, which had moral themes underlying the tales, and spoke of truth, compassion, and forbearance.

During the 2024 tour, the companies traveled across five continents, performing a total of more than 800 shows in more than 200 cities, many of which sold out tickets months in advance.

“My feeling is uninterrupted joy the entire time, obtaining new knowledge, and brand new discoveries,” said Frédérik-Karel Canoy, a lawyer, who saw the performance in France.

In recent years, Shen Yun has become a sensation in Europe, and presenters have responded by increasing the number of shows. Shen Yun toured 55 cities across 12 European countries, performing more than 240 shows there in 2024.

“It’s relevant because we need more moral guidelines in society to steer people in the right direction,” said Antoine Marguier, conductor and founder of Orchestre des Nations in Geneva. “Shen Yun is sending an important message to the world. ... Respect and peace are inspirations that we should obtain from the performance, and then try our best to spread it in the entire world.”

“I think it’s a vehicle for peace and human benevolence that’s quite exceptional,“ Mr. Marguier added. ”And these are beautiful stories that make us dream, too.”

The beauty of Shen Yun struck many patrons as profound, and thought-provoking.

“The Communist Party does not represent continuity with China’s past. It is an alien intrusion into an otherwise long and, I think, honorable tradition,” said Steve Yates, CEO of DC International Advisor, and former deputy assistant to the U.S. Vice President.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said, “I think it’s a great look back on Chinese culture before communism, and hopefully we return to that someday so that the people of China are free again.”

Ancient Chinese culture was a deeply spiritual one, with teachings from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism on moral and self improvement a cornerstone of society. The ancients prized the five virtues of benevolence, integrity, propriety, wisdom, and loyalty, and society was centered around the principle of harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind.

This was a culture the Chinese Communist Party sought desperately and violently to destroy over its 75-year reign through burning books, razing temples and palaces, and bloody events like the Cultural Revolution that left millions dead.

Through the arts, Shen Yun seeks to share with audiences a glimpse of the once-lost civilization—one that cannot be seen in China today. Audiences say they see that civilization come to life, and find it universal.

“The storyline shows achieving in the face of adverse situations, not being cowed by evil authority, many storylines that are important to me,“ said Donald Glascoff, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker. ”Independence, freedom, personal liberty, belief systems, and movement are all important.”

Jeffrey A. Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute, said Shen Yun was a rare opportunity to experience true traditional culture.

“Unfortunately, so much has been destroyed in the course of the 20th century; not just in China but in the United States and in Europe,“ he said. ”And we need artistic societies to remind us of who we are and also to point to evidence of what we can be. So that inspiration was very much present in the performance tonight.”

Former dance teacher Marie-Josée Lareau said the cohesion between each of the dancers, their movement, and breath was a testament to their belief in what they are doing.

“I really feel they’re fully invested,” she said. “It’s as if they’re completely present. It’s a beautiful union between them. I think they’re breathing at the same speed. It’s very deep, their connection.”

Actor Adam Croasdell said he felt transported by the performance, “in the highest way.”