NEWARK, N.J.—New Hampshire State Representative Ted Gorski drove four and a half hours with his family to see Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The tickets were a pre-Mother’s Day gift for his mother-in-law. As a state representative, Rep. Gorski had heard many things about the New York-based company and its travails instigated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“I’ve heard about the story of this event, and we wanted to come see it for ourselves,” he said from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 3.

Its main performative vehicle is classical Chinese dance. Supported by a live orchestra, classical Chinese dance—a dance form passed down from antiquity—is exquisitely expressive. It enables Shen Yun to present story-based dances that capture 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture through nearly 20 individual dances.

Among the many other stories from China’s long history, Shen Yun also features pieces that highlight events in contemporary China and the fate of people of faith unlawfully persecuted by the CCP. This year, a dance based on true events tells of a young man blinded due to state-sanctioned organ harvesting.

“We’ve heard about travesties and what’s happening, and it’s unacceptable,” he said. “We as the U.S. government should be able to say … that’s unacceptable … how they’re persecuting and jailing people.”

He’d also read about the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing efforts of transnational repression, under which Shen Yun performances have been targeted by fake bomb threats and some associated with the company have received death threats—in America.

“Ever since Shen Yun Performing Arts was established in 2006, the Chinese Communist Party has never stopped trying to interfere with us and dictate to the world what they can and cannot watch. They try pressuring theaters to cancel our contracts, try bribing local politicians to do their bidding, harass performers’ families back in China, attack us with an army of online commenters, send fake bomb threats to theaters, and even dangerously slash our touring buses’ tires.”

Mr. Gorski believes the Chinese regime is “afraid to have the truth come out.”

“It’s not just the persecutions but the other [stories] … and I think that’s good for all different ages,” he said. “It’s nice to see different stories that are being told.”

He mentioned the excellent dancers and the degree of skill required to tell the stories. He also enjoyed the exquisite, colorful costuming, lively music, and patented use of a digital screen that serves as a set for each dance.

“The screen with the special effects to … see the characters fly around on the screen, and they pop out from the screen, I think that’s unique. I’ve never seen that before.”

All in all, Rep. Gorski had a wonderful time and an appreciation for stories that “let people know what’s really happening” in China.