RENO, Nev.—Watching Shen Yun perform at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts on March 18, yoga instructor Melanie Mahan was fascinated by the dancers’ movements. Her curiosity about Chinese dance began when her daughter’s ballet studio brought in a guest teacher who taught Chinese dance. “I love to watch how she moved,” Ms. Mahan recalled. “And it’s not just the body, but the way the hands move.” Shen Yun is reviving 5,000 years of Chinese culture before communism through classical Chinese dance. The inner meanings and visual vocabulary presented in the program represent a rich heritage steeped in the spiritual roots of Buddhist and Daoist thought, which is suppressed in China today. It was Ms. Mahan’s first performance, having wanted to see the show in San Francisco a few years back but not making it. She appreciated the spiritual themes shown through the storylines. “I think the world needs more of what …