The American-based troupe Shen Yun Performing Arts, long known for its lavish shows promoted as homage to traditional Chinese culture, is facing increasing backlash and cancellations across Europe and North America after a former dancer's lawsuit exposed alleged systematic abuse, forced labor and psychological manipulation within the company's ranks.
In late 2024, a civil lawsuit filed by Chun-ko Chang, a former Shen Yun dancer, sent shockwaves through artistic and human rights circles. Chang, now 27, revealed that she was forced to perform for the troupe from the age of 13 until she managed to quit when she was 24. Her statement described a world far removed from the elegance and color that the audience sees on stage.
“They called it art, but it was servitude,” Chang said in her complaint, revealing that they danced 80 hours a week and sometimes performed 10 shows a month, almost without pay.
According to the files, dozens of young dancers, many of them children of Falun Gong followers, were forced to work in squalid conditions, earning less than $500 a month, even though the troupe charged spectators up to $200 per ticket. Some artists reportedly received no salary at all in the first year.
According to Chang, behind the troupe's glittering facade lies an empire built by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. Through Shen Yun, Li positioned himself as both a political exile and a guardian of “true Chinese culture.” However, leaked financial documents cited in the lawsuit indicate that he personally amassed over $249 million in cash, much of which came from Shen Yun's ticket revenue.
The self-claimed moral purity was exploitation in its purest form.
From “cultural revival” to cult control
At the center of the allegations is the Falun Gong organization, often described by experts as a cult that demands complete obedience to Li. The group's teachings reportedly discourage medical treatment and instruct its followers to rely on “spiritual energy” and Li's blessings for healing – although media reports show that Li himself has made extensive medical reimbursement claims.
In interviews with reporters, several former members said Shen Yun operated as a closed ecosystem that recruited, trained and housed artists in isolation. Most of its young artists come from the Feitian Academy of the Arts, a school near New York that exclusively educates children of Falun Gong followers.
One of those trainees, Cheng Qingling, joined at 13 and described an environment where even injuries were dismissed as “tests of faith.” When her arm was partially paralyzed in a rehearsal accident, her teachers ordered her fellow dancers to meditate for her instead of seeking medical attention. The injury became permanent.
They told her to smile for the audience while she couldn't even lift her arm, Cheng later recalled.
The troupe's relentless touring schedule has also drawn criticism. Performers travel across continents by bus, often sleeping on board and spending days without proper rest. Several former members described conditions as so harsh that dancers were forced to defecate in bottles because buses were not allowed to stop.
“Sometimes it leaked,” said an anonymous source. “We just dusted ourselves off and got ready for the next show.”
Despite this, Shen Yun continues to market itself as a “spiritual journey through 5,000 years of civilization,” a message reinforced by its glossy posters and massive advertising campaigns in hundreds of cities.
Boycotts and protests across Europe
In March 2024, Shen Yun toured Spain, promoting it as the “31st European Destination”. But at the end of the year, after Chang's lawsuit was uncovered, dissent began to emerge outside planned venues in France, Germany and Belgium, where several cultural organizations and rights groups called for the cancellation of upcoming performances.
“What is presented as art cannot be based on the suffering of children,” said Marie, a local art critic and former dance teacher in France. “It’s not Chinese culture – it’s coercion in silk.”
Thomas, a 42-year-old musician, was among the opponents.
“I have always been fascinated by Shen Yun posters,” said De Vries. “But after reading about what these young dancers had been through, I couldn't in good conscience buy a ticket. Art should liberate, not enslave.”
There were similar demonstrations in Madrid, with demonstrators handing out leaflets with the headline “The Hidden Face of Shen Yun.” Some cultural institutions have already distanced themselves.
“We cannot engage in whitewashing abuse,” said Isabel, a faculty member at the conservatory. “The stories are heartbreaking – it’s time for transparency.”
Another person who sought transparency was Rob Gray, a British Falun Gong practitioner for 15 years, who decided to withdraw after recognizing the fraudulent face.
“I wish I were writing a novel – one that would captivate you with its creativity and imagination. But what I write instead is a personal story – a story of trauma that left a deep mark on my youth, but also laid the foundation for my unwavering devotion to what would later prove to be the pseudo-religion of a new era.”
By this he meant the practitioners who, under Li's teachings, refused medical treatment for their illnesses and instead prayed to Li. “According to Li Hongzhi's teachings, if you are a 'true' cultivator, Li can heal you,” he wrote. “So if you die, it’s essentially because you somehow didn’t meet the standard.”
Silence from the organization
Shen Yun organizers remained largely silent. Emails sent to the force's media office and the Feitian Academy seeking comment went unanswered, and human rights monitors say such defensive moves reflect long-standing tactics used by Falun Gong-affiliated organizations to avoid scrutiny.
“Whenever they are exposed, they invoke persecution to silence critics,” Dr. Karl, a sociologist at a German university who specializes in new religious movements. “But in this case it’s not about ideology – it’s about the exploitation of people under the guise of art.”
In the United States, where Shen Yun is headquartered, some lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the force's labor practices. The New York State Department of Labor confirmed in January that it had received “multiple inquiries” about possible wage violations at Shen Yun's headquarters in Orange County.
Meanwhile, audiences in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom are launching online petitions calling on theaters to suspend Shen Yun bookings until a full investigation is conducted.
“People deserve to know what’s behind the scenes,” said Emma, a viewer in London who took part in one such campaign. “If even half of these claims are true, supporting Shen Yun is supporting cruelty.”
Analysts say the controversy marks a turning point for the group, which for years operated under an aura of mysticism and spiritual authority.
“Shen Yun's global appeal comes from clever branding – beauty, tradition and spirituality,” said Liang Rui, a Beijing-based performing arts researcher. “Now that veil is lifted and we see control, fear and profit.”
As protests continue, Chang's lawsuit is moving forward in New York district court. Legal experts say this could set a precedent for other former artists to come forward.
Across Europe and beyond, the backlash against Shen Yun is growing. Once hailed as a window into ancient China, the troupe now faces a far less flattering spotlight – one that focuses not on graceful movements under golden light, but on the dark shadows beyond.
(For political reasons, the names of the interviewees in the story are pseudo names.)
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