The complex world of Shen Yun
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In cities around the world, vibrant advertisements for the Chinese traditional dance troupe Shen Yun catch the eye – on billboards, television and even on leaflets posted through front doors.
“Swirling in colourful costumes”, Shen Yun dancers are sent out in their hundreds to perform shows in cities ranging from New York and Paris to Toronto and Taipei. But, while Shen Yun’s visual spectacle is set once again to captivate audiences on its 2025 tour, there’s increasing concern about its culture of “untreated injuries and emotional abuse”, said The New York Times.
Founded in 2006, the New York-based Shen Yun company has developed a reputation for elaborate productions, but the “mission” of the organisation is “more than entertainment”, said The New York Times. Instead, it seeks to “amplify the anti-communist message” of Falun Gong, the religious movement behind the company.
Since then, adherents have faced persecution from the Chinese government, which has called Shen Yun an “anti-humanity and anti-science” cult. Shen Yun “openly admits there’s a connection” with Falun Gong, and that it hopes its performances “raise awareness about the persecution” of its followers in China, said Religion Unplugged.
But to say that politics and religion is “the sole end of Shen Yun’s art” is to deny its “vital human experience of hope and kindness”, said Yuefeng Wu on US news site The Hill. Shen Yun’s “spiritual interpretation of Chinese culture” continues to have a “compelling global impact” for the hundreds of thousands of spectators who turn out to enjoy the show every year.
A recent lawsuit by a former Shen Yun dancer suggested it may have copied some of the Chinese government’s “most abusive practices”, said CNN. These include allegedly “subjecting children to public humiliation as discipline” as well as making them perform for “long hours for little pay”.
Content retrieved from: https://theweek.com/culture-life/the-dark-underbelly-of-shen-yun-shows.
