CALGARY, Alberta—Being a subscriber to the Epoch Times has made Renee Hunt and her husband Doug Hunt familiar with the mission of Shen Yun Performing Arts which they saw on April 17 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

“Very beautiful. I think it’s amazing and very important for the world to know what China once was and what China has become under communism and what the people have endured and are enduring there. So, I think this is very, very important, the message that they’re spreading around the world,” said Mrs. Hunt, a teacher.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.

“I like the water sleeves. They seem to stand out for me,” said Mr. Hunt, the vice president of a Canadian oil and gas distribution company.

From reading the Epoch Times, Ms. Hunt has seen how the Shen Yun artists train.

“It’s amazing the amount of time and effort [the artists] put it in to make it so beautiful.

Every member of Shen Yun practices Falun Dafa, a practice that improves a person’s mental and physical health.

“In addition, I know they really focus on their minds. And focusing on something higher, a higher power beyond just our everyday life,” Mrs. Hunt said.

Part of Shen Yun’s performance acts as a voice for those who are being oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Falun Dafa practitioners in China are being persecuted for their beliefs.

“The people have been severely oppressed because of the communist regime that’s in place now. And once upon a time, China was a beautiful culture, as you can see from the dance, and the belief in a divine and a higher power. And then under communist rule, that’s taken away from the people, and they’re not allowed to do that,” Mrs. Hunt said.

Due to Chinese censorship and other reasons, many people in the world, as well as in China, are still unaware of the persecution.

“They’re severely oppressed. They are put in jail. They’re tortured for their beliefs. And there’s actually people on the outside that have no idea that that actually goes on. So, I think what Shen Yun is doing by traveling around the world is they’re sending the message and getting the word out to the world about what’s going on in China,” Mrs. Hunt elaborated.

This year, being the second time that the couple has seen Shen Yun, Mr. Hunt believes that seeing the performance supports Shen Yun’s mission.

“It’s always interesting. It’s good to see them spreading the message of what’s happening in China. And the message in the show. It is the bigger reason we are here tonight, too,” he said.

Reporting by Lily Yu and Maria Han.