What is Shen Yun? Inside the Secretive Dance Troupe Bankrolling a Faith Movement

If you live in any major city, you’ve likely seen advertisements for Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based theatrical group which has performed intricately choreographed Chinese dances to millions. Perhaps you’ve even been, and enjoyed the show.

What you may not have known is that Shen Yun has deep ties with a highly controversial religious group known as Falun Gong, an arm of a conservative Chinese faith known for its opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and for teachings that clash with traditional western values.

This is a look behind the curtain of one of the most enigmatic faith movements of the 21st century, and the dance troupe secretly sharing their message worldwide.

What is Shen Yun?

First, a primer on this more-than-meets-the-eye dance group:

Shen Yun was founded in 2006 in New York, with the goal, its founders say, of reviving ancient Chinese customs they feared were on the verge of extinction thanks to the Chinese Communist Revolution. “After decades of communist rule,” reads their website, “much of this divinely inspired culture has been destroyed or forgotten.”

Shen Yun describes itself on its official website as “a celebration of China’s rich cultural heritage." Through the combination of dance and orchestral movement, each Shen Yun performance tells the story, as they put it, “of a time when divine beings walked upon the earth, leaving behind a culture that inspired generations.”

Yet while Shen Yun rakes in millions in ticket sales each year, critics say there’s something more sinister going on than a simple celebration of Chinese heritage.

Connection to Falun Gong

Critics argue that Shen Yun largely serves as the moneymaking machine for Falun Gong, a religious movement founded in 1990s China by its charismatic head, Li Hongzhi.

Li Hongzhi and his followers were persecuted by the Chinese government for the ‘new religious’ beliefs of their faith and their criticism of the CCP. Li fled the country and permanently settled in New York in 1998.

In the United States, Falun Gong has attracted significant criticism for its outlandish teachings and cult-like activities – often drawing comparisons to the "Moonies," a Korean branch of Christianity founded by Sun Myung Moon that has had its own share of controversies. 

What Does Falun Gong Believe?

Falun Gong is rooted in Buddhist teachings and claims to promote mental, physical, and spiritual health through meditation, promising followers that through enough meditation they can achieve mystical superpowers and healing capabilities.

Li Hongzhi's followers view him as a sort of quasi-deity from a higher plane of existence. In fact, Li claims he has all sorts of powers, including that he can turn invisible, levitate, and cure illnesses. “You can think of me as a human being,” Li cryptically replied when asked if he was human.

He teaches that aliens are actively intervening in the affairs of humans, and says that most modern technology was given to us by alien lifeforms to sever our spiritual connections to the past and prop up immoral modern thinking.

Disturbingly, Li preaches homosexuals are “unworthy of being human” and possess a "filthy, deviant state of mind." As if it couldn't get any worse, Falun Gong also insists that each ethnicity has their own heaven, so interracial marriages are discouraged because mixed race individuals may be punished cosmically post-death, leaving them nowhere to go in the segregated afterlife.

Faith or Front?

Shen Yun isn't officially operated by the Falun Gong religious organization. However, recent investigations – including by the New York Times – shed light on just how intertwined Shen Yun and Falun Gong truly are. Through interviews with former members and investigations into the dance troupe's financial statements, the Times uncovered some troubling details. 

Tax records show Shen Yun holds some $250 million dollars in the bank, a shocking increase for a nonprofit which had reported assets of $60 million just ten years ago. While they’ve accrued some of that through global sales of Shen Yun’s hundreds of yearly performances, there may be more to this revenue than they're letting on.

For example, Shen Yun has been accused of exploiting the beliefs of Falun Gong followers and convincing them to give to the organization – through volunteer hours, donations, and more. Followers are promised salvation in return. 

“They all think — including me before — we all think it is an important part of the path to godhood,” said Simone Gao, a former Falun Gong member. “If you devote time, energy and money to this cause, the reward is incomparable to what you get in this world.” 

Further allegations include abusing pandemic-era relief funds, soliciting the life savings of even their most penniless followers, and using performers as mules to illegally ferry cash into the United States.

They also market a variety of products to followers, many of them with eyebrow-raising price tags. One official Falun Gong necklace runs nearly $4,000; a pair of earrings are close to $1,000. Followers are encouraged to subscribe to their $199.99/year streaming service to help spread the movement.

Critics argue it’s all used to prop up Li and bankroll his opulent lifestyle at the 400-acre Falun Gong headquarters, called Dragon Springs, located in Deerpark, NY.

However, Falun Gong disputes these allegations, and a representative called such accusations “shocking and deeply offensive.” 

“For over 25 years, Falun Gong practitioners have struggled to peacefully resist persecution from the largest totalitarian regime on earth, and Shen Yun is a key part of that effort,” a Shen Yun spokeswoman told the New York Times. 

What do you make of Shen Yun, Falun Gong, and Li Hongzhi?