TORONTO, Canada—The China that once boasted 5,000 years of civilization and unbroken recorded history is not the China of today, which has been under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949.

Aileen Calverley, trustee and co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, is plenty familiar with the human rights atrocities happening at the hands of the CCP, and was appreciative of being able to spend two-and-a-half hours immersed in “China before communism” during Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening night performance in Toronto on March 31.

“I think it’s very good. I want to watch [it] every year. I’m very happy that I can make it this year,” said Ms. Calverley at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

“Chinese culture is very deep. So a lot of depth in the culture and also very long history. And from the performance today, we can see—they’ve got different styles of dance, different traditions. So that is also very interesting,” Ms. Calverley said.

In the story-telling dances, the tales range from ancient legends to modern-day events happening in China today.

Being a human rights advocate, Ms. Calverley expressed how moved she was by a piece that touched on the CCP’s persecution of the Chinese people, including Falun Gong practitioners.

“Even in suffering, you still have hope,” she said.