“It was extraordinary,” says former general Michel Commun. “We were very, very happy.”

“We’ve been looking forward to it for about three years now. But you know it’s in such high demand, we had to sign up as early as October for today,” said Mr. Commun, who is a former officer of the Gendarmerie Nationale, where he served for 38 years, before starting a new life as president of a business consulting firm.

For Mr. Commun, artists simply achieved perfection in their art.

“I don’t think there could be something above it. It’s really perfect,” he said. “I go to shows from time to time. I'd say, right now, it’s ten out of ten. It’s perfect.”

Mr. Commun also really appreciated the unique screen background, “this animation which, all the same, is an added bonus.”

“But what we really admire is this ensemble, this unity. In short, each piece is stunning,” he said.

The tagline of Shen Yun, based in New York, is to present “China before communism” and its 5,000 years of history, a civilization almost lost.

China was once called the “Land of the Divine,” in reference to the link with the divine that was at the root of authentic Chinese culture. This bond with the divine is very much present in Shen Yun’s show, audience members like Mr. Commun say.

“You can feel it in all the paintings. There are messages. It’s very short, very direct. And it speaks,” he said. “It’s very clear what message we’re trying to get across, and these are great values.”

He was moved by “the emphasis on good values, good feelings, and justice”.

“It’s all very moral,” he added of the values he saw in Shen Yun, “these millennia-old values that we’re looking for.”

“And then, as the presenters said, strength comes from within.

Jean-Philippe Guerra, director of a public works company, was delighted that Shen Yun “explained a little of China’s history to us.”

He also attended the first Lyon performance of the classical Chinese dance company’s 2025 tour, accompanied by Sandra Mollard, a dispatcher with the same company.

“It highlights all the traditions we have in France. And I think it’s important to cultivate these cultures because they tend to get forgotten, and we need to keep them alive,” he said. “It’s good to share them too, because it makes China a little better known.”

Mr. Guerra was particularly moved by the solo on the erhu, the traditional two-string musical instrument, so much so that it raised the hairs on his arms. “I found this instrument quite extraordinary. I wasn’t expecting it at all, and it moved me.”

During the performance, she experienced surprise, emotion, and was moved by “the beauty of things, the gestures.”

Shen Yun is based in New York to enjoy true artistic freedom. It has eight companies performing simultaneously all over the world. However, it is impossible to attend such a show in China, as the Chinese Communist Party prohibits Shen Yun from performing there.

Mr. Guerra said he was aware of a level of censorship in China and was supportive of Shen Yun’s efforts. “It’s good to show it.”

Mr. Guerra finds Shen Yun’s image of pre-Communist China “a beautiful image.”

“We always have an image of China that’s a bit harsh, but I find that in the dancers’ gestures, there’s a certain fluidity. It’s very soothing, it’s very calm, and it conveys a lot of emotion.”

A former director of the Banque Postale, Gilles Bénard, was soothed by the Shen Yun performance he attended on the evening of April 22 in the company of Myriam Gentelet, a retired schoolteacher.

“The music is very soft, it’s very calm, it’s very relaxing with all these colors,” Mr. Bénard said.

“Then there’s the simultaneous 3D, which is fantastic. The characters coming in and out of the scene, it’s very special, it’s very good,” he said, referring to the background. It uses a technique patented by Shen Yun, enabling the dancers to disappear into the background and reappear on stage a little later.

Mrs. Gentelet, for her part, experienced “almost two hours of happiness” during the performance at the Amphitheatre. “I love dancing—and I think it’s so elegant!

She loved the costumes as much as the classical Chinese dance. “I discovered that in classical Chinese dance, they don’t do pointe, but it’s beautiful, really beautiful.”

The former schoolteacher felt “a lot of inner peace” during the show. “We need it so much today, and we’re transported to another world.”

“It’s very poetic,” she added. “They’re all beautiful. ... Very elegant. I really enjoyed all the costumes because it’s extraordinary.”

“They are truly divine beings who take to the skies. They often show us the sky, but also the sea. So, we were very moved by this message,” Mrs. Gentelet said.

“I’m very sensitive to this kind of message too, about ethics in life,” said Mrs. Gentelet, for whom Shen Yun’s show brought “nothing but happiness.”