Shen Yun is a nonprofit organization based in New York that has quickly established itself as the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. This, in spite of the Chinese Communist Party trying to take the company down.
Key Highlights:
• Shen Yun’s founding artists knew that their story and the story of classical Chinese culture could not be told in China, and therefore established Shen Yun in a free society.
• Shen Yun was founded by Falun Gong practitioners in the context of brutal persecution of millions in China.
• The company’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture; as part of each performance, among the 20 pieces are a couple of dance numbers depicting modern China, the persecution of Falun Gong, and the peaceful resistance to it.
• Shen Yun has performed in 36 countries, over 200 cities, for millions worldwide.
• The CCP has used multiple ways to try to sway international opinion against Shen Yun; its new tactic is to weaponize social media and the Western press with the goal of ending Shen Yun and Falun Gong.
Company Origins:
• Shen Yun was established in the Hudson Valley of New York in 2006.
• Shen Yun is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
• Shen Yun was formed by accomplished Chinese artists—dancers, choreographers, composers, and musicians—who engage in the Falun Gong spiritual practice.
• Falun Gong is a Buddhist practice involving soft exercises, meditation, and self-improvement centered on the three tenets of Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance.
• Among Shen Yun’s founders and artists are people who experienced persecution in China: they were imprisoned, tortured, or lost family members, both during historical atrocities like the Cultural Revolution and the ongoing persecution of millions who practice Falun Gong.
• Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, the same heritage of five millennia that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has spent a century destroying. Shen Yun’s founders knew that this revival could only be launched in a free society.
• Shen Yun has funded its growth entirely from ticket sales and limited donations, not from any government or corporate entity.
Dragon Springs – the Company’s Home:
• Shen Yun is located in the Hudson Valley at a campus called Dragon Springs.
• Dragon Springs facilities are used by three kinds of organizations:
• Shen Yun’s administrative and rehearsal facilities
• Tang Dynasty-style buildings and gardens
• Two accredited performing arts schools (academy and college) called Fei Tian
Shen Yun Accomplishments at a Glance:
• Shen Yun’s 8 companies annually perform in some 200 cities across five continents, in front of almost two million people a year.
• Shen Yun performs in the world’s premier venues, such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in the U.S., historic theaters like Parma’s Teatro Regio and Prague State Opera in Europe, and prestigious theaters like Tokyo Opera City and Taipei’s National Concert Hall in Asia.
• In Taiwan, which shares a cultural heritage with China, Shen Yun is extremely well received, with dozens of sold-out shows every year; many audience members fly to Taiwan from China specifically to see Shen Yun.
Shen Yun’s Artistry:
• Shen Yun’s creative output, year after year, as well as ingenuity in the field of performing arts, sets the company apart.
• Shen Yun’s primary art form is classical Chinese dance, which has thousands of years of history. All Shen Yun dancers are systematically trained in the art form. Shen Yun is home to hundreds of the world’s top classical Chinese dancers, which include many award-winning artists.
• Shen Yun’s team of choreographers develops new works of dance for each year’s performance. Since its inception, Shen Yun has presented over 300 world premiere dance pieces, each with its own original music, costumes, and backdrop.
• Shen Yun features the world’s first orchestra to combine both classical Western and Chinese instruments as its permanent members. The company also has a large-scale Symphony Orchestra that performs on its own tours.
• Shen Yun holds a registered patent for integration of projected, animated backdrop and performers on stage. New backdrops are created every year for each new work of dance.
Shen Yun Tour Basics:
• Shen Yun typically tours from Christmas to early May, roughly 4.5 months a year.
• Shen Yun performs by invitation only, and is hosted and “presented” by local organizations who wish to bring Shen Yun to their communities.
• The local organizations handle marketing, promotions, and ticket sales.
Company Culture:
• One of Shen Yun’s secrets of success is that the values of the traditional culture displayed on stage are not an act—performers aim to live by these principles in their daily lives.
• Artists strive to follow the teachings and principles of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), which center around: Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance; group meditation and studying of the practice’s teachings are part of the daily schedule.
• Shen Yun performers have a diverse ethnic and national makeup. A typical Shen Yun orchestra might include, as one in 2024 had, musicians from the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, Germany, and Russia, with a conductor from Bulgaria and a manager from Taiwan. The same is true of the dancers and production crew.
Being an Artist with Shen Yun:
• Most Shen Yun performers fulfilled a long-held dream when they joined the company; however, company members are free to leave at any time.
• Performers receive medical treatment and physical therapy just like dancers and athletes in other companies do, with some dancers having undergone surgeries on their knees, Achilles tendons, or for other injuries.
• Within a few short years of joining the company, most Shen Yun members see more of the world than the vast majority of international travelers see in a lifetime. On days off, there is ample sightseeing, shopping, and downtime.
CCP Interference:
• From the very beginning, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has blocked Shen Yun from performing in China, even though it is the deepest wish of almost every company member to bring the show to China someday; performers’ family members back in China are subjected to harassment and various forms of persecution there by CCP agents.
• Through its embassies and consulates around the world, the CCP has been engaging in a large-scale campaign of transnational repression targeting Shen Yun. Every year, the CCP pressures theater managers and elected officials to try to nullify Shen Yun theater contracts, often by spreading lies about Shen Yun and threatening economic repercussions. These attempts have failed in most cases, but did find traction in some Eastern European countries and in South Korea.
• Multiple incidents have been documented and reported to the police and FBI of individuals tampering with Shen Yun’s buses and trucks, including slashing tires in such a way that they would burst at high speed and cause a loss of control of the vehicle.
• Chinese secret agents were arrested and pleaded guilty for their roles as agents trying to undermine Shen Yun in the U.S.
• The CCP recently changed tactics and is now attempting to manipulate public opinion in America and around the globe. According to leaked reports from China, several CCP organizations have been instructed to throw their full support behind a number of Chinese social media influencers to attack Shen Yun Performing Arts. There is also evidence of coordination between some individuals supporting these influencers and a few Western journalists.
• To try to sway public opinion, the CCP has employed its “50 cent army” of online commentators to leave negative reviews and paid to place negative review articles in major newspapers around the world.
