TORONTO—“Shen Yun is definitely worth seeing,” international human rights lawyer David Matas said after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts in Toronto. “It’s a combination of a number of things—the technology, the music, the aesthetics, and the human rights message.”

On the evening of June 27, Mr. Matas attended Shen Yun’s performance at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. A longtime audience member, he said he had seen the performance “more than I can count” because he has attended regularly over the years.

Mr. Matas said this year’s performance carried special significance because Shen Yun returned to Toronto after its earlier performances met with interference.

“This time is quite special because Shen Yun was cancelled and has now returned to the Four Seasons Centre,” Mr. Matas said.

From an artistic perspective, he said the production continued to present elements that have become hallmarks of Shen Yun, while also introducing new features.

Mr. Matas said this year, he was especially impressed by Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, which allows performers to travel beyond the stage, jumping between animated worlds and the live performance. The seamless interaction between dancers and digital scenes creates an immersive experience filled with unexpected and playful moments.

Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun seeks to revive 5,000 years of China’s divinely-inspired heritage and share with audiences the beauty of “China before communism.” The performance also exposes the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

For Mr. Matas, who has spent decades investigating the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses, including the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China, the programs addressing persecution were also an important part of the performance.

“My focus is on forced organ harvesting, so I’m always interested to see the items that deal specifically with that,” he said. “There was something this year, but it was different from what I’ve seen in previous years.”

“It is worrisome,” he said. “As I said in my speech, China is the most systematically, comprehensively, and severely repressive country in the world.”

“Basically, it has been happening without any legislation, without any remedy, because the targets are diaspora communities that are mostly intimidated and fractured,” he said. “But now it has become so comprehensive that we are starting to get action.”

Mr. Matas said he remains hopeful that stronger responses will continue to develop.

“I’m hopeful that we will actually mobilize to get some pushback against that,” he said.

“It’s certainly worth seeing,” Mr. Matas said. “It’s a combination of a number of things—the technology, the music, the aesthetics, and the human rights message. So it is definitely worth a visit.”