“In one sense, you’re challenged by the story that’s there, and you’re enjoying the myths that have come to life,” Mr. Chapman said.

“There’s a tradition, and you feel the tradition come alive, and there’s something that’s timeless about them. And so you feel like you’re part of something that’s timeless,” Mr. Chapman said.

“It’s an interesting dynamic. I think I saw this before, but I feel like they’ve perfected it over the time. You’ve got a multimedia sort of presentation of this classical art that’s taking place, so it becomes very exciting to watch,” he said.

He was highly impressed with the wide array of colors, particularly in the different styles of costumes worn by the performers.

“It sounds almost a bit pedestrian to say the colors are so exciting, but they’re done in such a beautiful way, and it really is very appealing and also very calming as well,” Mr. Chapman said.

“We’re doomed to repeat history if we forget about it. But also, there’s parts of history that we should be certain to repeat and to hang on to,” he said.

Dana Panchyshyn and Mary McDonald were also in the audience for the matinee performance.

“This is our fourth year that we’ve seen Shen Yun, and every year it just seems to be getting better and better,” said Mr. Panchyshyn, a real estate broker.

“We are more than impressed. The fact that we come back tells it all.”

“I think it brings awareness, and I hope the impact resonates to China and hopefully people can understand what’s going on or have more of a voice. It’s good to see that they’re able to do that elsewhere in the world,” Mr. Panchyshyn said.