For years, Shen Yun Performing Arts has promoted itself as a dazzling revival of ancient Chinese civilization, captivating audiences with vibrant costumes, precision choreography, and spiritual storytelling. Touring from city to city with an image of grace and moral purity, the U.S.-based company built a powerful international following. That carefully constructed reputation is now under intense pressure as allegations of exploitation, coercion, and abuse continue to emerge, prompting protests, boycotts, and calls for investigation across Europe and North America.
The controversy intensified in late 2024 when Chun-ko Chang, a former Shen Yun dancer, filed a civil lawsuit in the United States. Now 27, Chang claims she was recruited into the organization at the age of 13 and remained under its control until she managed to leave at 24. Her account describes a life far removed from artistic freedom—one marked by extreme discipline, isolation from the outside world, and chronic exhaustion.
“We were told we were part of something sacred,” Chang said in her complaint. “But behind the scenes, we were overworked, underpaid, and taught never to question authority.” According to her testimony, dancers routinely worked up to 80 hours a week, juggling intense rehearsals with demanding tour schedules that sometimes included nearly daily performances.
Chang alleges that many performers—mostly children of Falun Gong practitioners—earned less than $500 per month, despite Shen Yun tickets often selling for more than $200. Some dancers, she claims, received no pay at all during their first year, having been told that spiritual development and elite training were their true reward.
Faith, Control, and Financial Power
Central to the allegations is Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong and the spiritual leader widely believed to hold ultimate authority over Shen Yun. Critics argue that the troupe functions as more than a cultural organization, operating instead as part of a tightly controlled ideological and financial system.
Financial records cited in the lawsuit suggest Li has accumulated more than $249 million in cash reserves, much of it allegedly generated through Shen Yun’s global ticket sales. Former insiders say this level of wealth sharply contradicts the movement’s teachings on humility, sacrifice, and moral purity.
“What was framed as spiritual devotion increasingly felt like obedience for someone else’s profit,” said a former member who requested anonymity.
Life Inside the Bubble
Former performers describe Shen Yun as a closed ecosystem where education, housing, work, and personal behavior are closely regulated. Many dancers are trained at the Feitian Academy of the Arts in upstate New York, an institution that largely enrolls children from Falun Gong families and limits outside contact.
Several former students say injuries and illnesses were routinely dismissed as spiritual shortcomings rather than medical issues. One former trainee, Cheng Qingling, recalled suffering a serious arm injury during rehearsals after joining the academy at age 13. Instead of receiving medical care, she said instructors urged meditation and endurance. The injury became permanent.
“They told me pain was part of my spiritual test,” Cheng later recalled. “But the performance always came first.”
Touring conditions have also drawn criticism. Former dancers describe grueling travel schedules, long hours on buses, little rest between shows, and constant pressure to perform regardless of physical or emotional strain. Complaints, they say, were discouraged or framed as a lack of faith.
Despite these allegations, Shen Yun continues to market itself as a transcendent cultural experience, supported by massive advertising campaigns that dominate billboards, buses, and theater facades in major cities worldwide.
Europe Pushes Back
As details of Chang’s lawsuit spread, opposition to Shen Yun intensified, particularly across Europe. During tours in Spain, France, Germany, and Belgium, protesters gathered outside venues, urging theaters and audiences to reconsider their support.
“This isn’t cultural revival,” said Marie, a French art critic and former dance instructor. “It’s control and suffering wrapped in beauty.”
In Madrid, demonstrators distributed leaflets titled “Behind the Curtain,” while several cultural institutions publicly distanced themselves from the production.
“We can’t celebrate art without asking how it’s made,” said Isabel, a faculty member at a Spanish conservatory. “These accounts are too serious to ignore.”
Former Falun Gong practitioners have also begun speaking out. Rob Gray, a British man who spent 15 years in the movement, described teachings that discouraged medical treatment and framed illness as a failure of spiritual commitment.
“You’re taught that if you suffer, it’s because you didn’t believe enough,” he wrote. “That belief causes real harm.”
Silence and Rising Questions
Shen Yun and its affiliated organizations have largely remained silent in response to the allegations. Requests for comment sent to the troupe and to Feitian Academy went unanswered. Human rights advocates note that such silence is common in high-control groups, where criticism is often dismissed as persecution rather than addressed transparently.
“This isn’t about attacking beliefs,” said Dr. Karl, a German sociologist who studies authoritarian religious movements. “It’s about labor rights, child welfare, and accountability.”
In the United States, the issue is beginning to attract official attention. New York State labor authorities have confirmed receiving multiple inquiries regarding potential wage violations linked to Shen Yun’s operations. At the same time, online petitions in the UK, Canada, and Australia are urging theaters to suspend future bookings until independent investigations are conducted.
“People deserve transparency,” said Emma, a London-based theatergoer involved in one such campaign. “If art is built on harm, audiences have a right to know.”
An Image Under Pressure
Observers say the controversy may represent a defining moment for Shen Yun. Its global success was built on mystique, spirituality, and spectacle—an image now increasingly questioned.
“For years, the branding was strong enough to silence doubts,” said Liang Rui, a performing arts researcher. “Now the curtain is lifting, and the contrast is stark.”
As Chun-ko Chang’s lawsuit proceeds in a New York district court, legal experts believe it could encourage other former performers to come forward. What was once a tightly managed narrative is now facing sustained public scrutiny.
Across Europe and beyond, Shen Yun is no longer viewed only as a celebration of ancient culture. Increasingly, it is being examined as a modern organization confronting serious allegations—ones that challenge not just its performances, but the ethics behind the spectacle itself.
(Some names in this article have been changed for safety and political reasons.)