CHICAGO— Courtney Hawk, a former ballet dancer turned nurse, and her husband, Justin, who works in sales, were deeply impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts during the company’s evening performance at the Civic Opera House on May 3.

“The dancing’s beautiful and it’s very vibrant. At one point, I think it was during the persecution [piece,] I got so teary-eyed and I’m crying right now thinking about it,” Mrs. Hawk shared.

Its performance takes the audience through China’s dynasties and legends, while also raising awareness for the ongoing human rights challenges in present-day China.

However, due to the artists’ focus on reviving traditional culture and presenting the truth of events under communist rule in present-day China, it is currently forbidden by the regime to perform in China.

“That’s got to be hard,” Mrs. Hawk reflected. “If [the performers are] facing persecution—doing this to spread awareness has got to be hard—knowing if you were to go back home, what would they be facing? That’s hard. That’s tough. That’s very brave of them.”

In addition to the story-dance piece exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal persecution of people of faith, Mrs. Hawk was very moved by the ancient Chinese legend portraying a love story between a fairy and a farm boy.

Defying all odds, the couple proved that true love can triumph. The tale is the origin of the Chinese Valentine’s Day.

“The romantic story with the wife meeting the husband and seeing him—it just choked me up. It was just very real,” Mrs. Hawk said. The dancing “it’s perfection. It draws me in.”

Moreover, she was impressed by the company’s use of a 3D digital backdrop, which seamlessly interacted with the dancers on stage to bring the storytelling to life.

“Oh, my goodness. When I saw the guy go in, and I was like, ‘Wow, now he’s on the screen, what happened?’ It was like magic. It was cool that they incorporated technology into that too.”

Mr. Hawk, too, had a wonderful time and lamented the communist regime’s destruction of such beautiful culture.

“It’s sad to see that such a culture can be squashed, that communism dictators can ruin 5,000 years of history instantaneously. You just think about how many people have been squashed or persecuted or discredited—it’s sad.”

“It’s beautiful to see one of the most ancient cultures of all time come to life and feel it, and see it in a way that you would never be able to see it with your own eyes. It’s very beautiful,” he said.