CANBERRA, Australia—Shen Yun Performing Arts used the power of creativity and dance to “bring expression to a story of what China was like before communism,” according to a senior official from the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL).

“I thought it was a fantastic performance, a great show of creativity and beauty to express story,” said Joshua Rowe, the ACL’s state director for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

“Discipline, humility, faithful devotion to one’s spouse”—these are the values and virtues he praised Shen Yun for depicting using a “creative medium.”

Shen Yun’s costumes are inspired by China’s 5,000 years of history and diverse ethnicities, which the company states is inspired by the “attire worn in the heavens.” Mr. Rowe was impressed by the way the dancers used their costumes, such as long flowing sleeves, to create “patterns and contours” in some of the pieces.

Mr. Rowe noted that issues relating to China are usually discussed intellectually, but Shen Yun brings a “new dimension” to the conversation using its art form to show “what China was like before communism.”

“Often we think and look at things from such an intellectual standpoint, but having a creative medium through which to express things adds a new dimension and elicits feelings,” he said.

Mr. Rowe said this was “really powerful.”

“That’s one of the things I’ve taken away from tonight,” he said.

Shen Yun’s performers practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice from the Buddhist tradition whose adherents strive to live by the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, and practice meditation. Under the Chinese Communist Party, Falun Dafa is persecuted, and many of its adherents have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed.

How Shen Yun used its art form to tell a story about China “before communism” left the biggest impression on Mr. Rowe, who, as a Christian and director at the ACL, expressed the importance of freedom of religion.