Former dancer for global Chinese dance group Shen Yun alleges exploitation and harsh conditions
Published By admin with Comments 0
A former performer for a global dance troupe touring New Zealand has likened the organisation’s business model to “human trafficking” with dancers’ passports taken and little pay for punishing hours.
New York-based Shen Yun, which has live performances at the Aotea Centre’s Kiri Te Kanawa Centre in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday, markets itself as an unmissable spectacle that celebrates Chinese culture before harsh communist rule.
The organisation’s website has glowing reviews from notable figures, including Academy Award-winning actor Cate Blanchett, who is quoted as calling the performance “exquisitely beautiful”.
But a man who spent seven years immersed in Shen Yun claimed that behind the marketing hype is a controlling and manipulative organisation, where young performers are “used”.
“They’re using us as free labour around the world to make money. I think that is the definition of human trafficking,” he said.
The man, who feared a backlash and asked to remain anonymous, claimed he was deprived of access to medical care while under Shen Yun’s control – allegations that have been denied by the organisation.
“I did not see a doctor or a single pill of medicine whatsoever. Inevitably you’ll get sick, or you get injured, but you were never treated,” he said.
Shen Yun’s conductor Ying Chen rejected such claims, saying she believed that the Chinese Communist Party was behind the Herald’s source coming forward.
“We are confident that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) well-documented campaign to malign and silence us has led to these allegations,” she said.
The Herald’s source, who lives in Auckland, denied any links to the CCP.
He said he felt “tortured” by the gruelling training regime, claiming there were no public holidays and pay was irregular.
He claimed he and others would be belittled publicly in front of their peers if they made minor mistakes or stepped out of line.
Content retrieved from: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/a-former-dancer-for-the-global-chinese-dance-group-shen-yun-alleges-exploitation-and-harsh-conditions/M4HF6VHP3ZEGDIUNRYQ5L5WOWY/.
