The New York Times:The Dark Side of Shen Yun

The Dark Side of Shen Yun The popular Chinese dance troupe has toured all over the world. But young performers described a culture of untreated injuries and emotional manipulation. By James Barron Aug. 19, 2024 We’ll look at findings from The New York Times’s investigation of the Shen Yun dance troupe. The dance group Shen Yun sends troupes of Chinese dancers swirling in colorful costumes to cities like New York, Paris, Toronto and Taipei. Shen Yun’s mission is more than entertainment: The shows amplify the anti-Communist message of Falun Gong, a religious movement that the Chinese Communist Party has tried to stamp out. Shen Yun has been led in exile by Falun Gong’s founder, Li Hongzhi, from a 400-acre compound in upstate New York, where many of the performers live and train. What Shen Yun audiences may not have realized was that offstage the performers paid a price in untreated injuries and emotional abuse. A New York Times investigation found that Shen Yun routinely disco...