MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—The bright-colored billboards have evoked curiosity in travelers along highways in Mississauga for months by advertising the words: “China before communism.”

Shen Yun, a show originally founded by Chinese expats with the mission “to revive a culture that was once almost lost” due to the Chinese communist regime’s Cultural Revolution, brings “a lot of hope and promise,” said Steve Reed, a doctor who saw the show today with his wife, Penny Reed.

“This is education for us into what Chinese culture was at one point,” Steve Reed said.

Then Penny Reed, who is also a doctor, added, “I feel sort of blessed to live in a country where [that earlier culture] can be experienced here and the Chinese culture has the freedom to express it. It’s a blessing.”

She said she was struck particularly deeply by a dance segment that tells of a young man in modern China who is persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for his spiritual beliefs.

Her husband added he also noted how Shen Yun “reflects the spirituality and the connection between divine and earthly.”

Scenes of persecution onstage made her feel “sad,” though, “because I always believe in freedom,” she said, adding that the story was “very interesting, too.”

“We get educated about that,” she said.

Seeing Shen Yun for a second time, Stephanie DiIorio, a sales manager for an investment company, said she returned because she found the performance “so intriguing” and it “opened my eyes to the plight of the Chinese culture.” Then she added, “It’s a beautiful, beautiful show.”

Ms. DiIorio left Shen Yun with something universal.

“We should really try to keep that kindness going forward because a world without kindness is just a world of suffering,” she said, “which is a terrible situation.”

Dr. Steve Reed, who is a first-timer at Shen Yun, echoed her words.

“I think [Shen Yun’s message] translates into care and love for other people within our earthly environment,” he said, “which is sadly lacking in some places.”