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{{Short description|Performing arts company related to the Falun Gong}}{{about|the dance company|the subway station|Shenyun station}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

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-yün{{sup4}}-shu{{sup2}}sh2yu4yi.u-uan|2}}|poj=Sîn-Å«n gÄ“-su̍t thôan4}} wan{{sup6}} seot{{sup4}}|y=Sàhn wahn ngaih seuht tyùhn|phfs=Sṳ̀n-yun Ngi-su̍t-thòn|tl=Sîn-Å«n gÄ“-su̍t thuân|buc=Sìng-ông ngiê-sÅ­k tuàng}}Shen Yun Performing Arts ({{zh|t=神韻藝術團|l=divine rhythm arts troupe}}) is a United States-based non-profit performing arts and entertainment company that tours internationally, producing performances including dance and symphonic music.WEB, Tigas, Mike, Wei, Sisi, Schwencke, Ken, Roberts, Brandon, Glassford, Alec, 9 May 2013url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/208812402 archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227060126projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/208812402 access-date=2020-05-26 ProPublica >language=en, It is operated by the Falun Gong new religious movement.ZADROSNY>FIRST1=BRANDYFIRST2=BENTITLE=TRUMP, QANON AND AN IMPENDING JUDGMENT DAY: BEHIND THE FACEBOOK-FUELED RISE OF THE EPOCH TIMESACCESS-DATE=2022-01-14NBC NEWS>LANGUAGE=EN, Shen Yun is composed of eight large performing ensembles,STACKCOMMERCE >DATE=2022-12-20 URL=HTTPS://WWW.ENTREPRENEUR.COM/GROWING-A-BUSINESS/SHEN-YUN-PERFORMING-ARTS-AN-AMERICAN-SUCCESS-STORY/441252 WEBSITE=ENTREPRENEUR ACCESS-DATE=23 MAY 2020TITLE=5,000 YEARS OF CHINESE MUSIC AND DANCE, IN ONE NIGHTLANGUAGE=EN-USTHE NEW YORK TIMES>ISSN=0362-4331ACCESS-DATE=13 AUGUST 2023ARCHIVE-DATE=2 FEBRUARY 2023DATE=2019-11-22LANGUAGE=EN-US, 2020-05-23, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by Chinese expatriate adherents of Falun Gong, and is based at the Dragon Springs compound in Deerpark, New York, near where the group’s leader Li Hongzhi and his followers reside.WEB, Hunt, Mary Ellen, 4 January 2009, Chinese New Year Spectacular in S.F., Cupertino,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/04/PKC014SEDQ.DTL, 4 September 2009, San Francisco Chronicle, WEB, Wenzel, John, 1 October 2007, Chinese New Year embracing tradition,www.denverpost.com/entertainment_old/ci_7925231, live,www.denverpost.com/entertainment_old/ci_7925231," title="web.archive.org/web/20080113102251www.denverpost.com/entertainment_old/ci_7925231,">web.archive.org/web/20080113102251www.denverpost.com/entertainment_old/ci_7925231, 13 January 2008, 5 September 2009, The Denver Post, BOOK, Junker, Andrew, 2019, Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora, 99–101, Cambridge University Press, 9781108655897, Falun Gong adherents pay to rent the performance venue, promote the show, and sell tickets. After expenses are covered through ticket sales, proceeds go to Shen Yun.BOOK, Junker, Andrew, 2019, Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora, 99, Cambridge University Press, 9781108655897, The finances of Shen Yun and Falun Gong appear to be linked, with technically separate corporations sharing funds, executives and the same mission. Li Hongzhi describes the Shen Yun performance as a means of “saving” audiences.Shen Yun’s performances have been described as promoting sectarian doctrines and negative views of evolution and atheism. The group is promoted by The Epoch Times, a far-right media outlet affiliated with Falun Gong.WEB, Dowd, Katie, 2021-01-04, Epoch Times, one of Trump’s favorite ‘news’ sources, is linked to Shen Yun,www.sfgate.com/politics/article/what-is-Epoch-Times-Falun-Gong-15839640.php, 2023-07-09, SFGATE, en-US, In 2019, an NBC News assessment concluded that the Epoch Media Group and Shen Yun “make up the outreach effort of Falun Gong”. The Chinese government bars Shen Yun from performing in China, as it considers Falun Gong to be an “anti-society cult” and has attempted to cancel its performances abroad by pressuring theaters and governments.WEB, New York dance troupe says China banned shows over Falun Gong links, TheGuardian.com, 6 May 2016,www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/06/shen-yun-dance-troupe-falun-gong-china-cancelled-performances,

History and ties to Falun Gong

In 2006, a group of expatriate Chinese Falun Gong practitioners living in North America founded Shen Yun in New York.NEWS,archive.hudsonreporter.com/2011/12/22/shen-yun-returns/, Shen Yun returns, Wright, E. Assata, 22 December 2011, 22 February 2020, Hudson Reporter,web.archive.org/web/20200222063003/https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2011/12/22/shen-yun-returns/, 22 February 2020, live, The stated purpose of the company was to revive Chinese culture and traditions from the time before the Chinese Revolution.WEB, Shen Yun Performing Arts to Return to Lincoln Center, 1/10-19,www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Shen-Yun-Performing-Arts-to-Return-to-Lincoln-Center-110-19-20131114, broadwayworld, 22 May 2020,web.archive.org/web/20190412130303/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Shen-Yun-Performing-Arts-to-Return-to-Lincoln-Center-110-19-20131114, 12 April 2019, live, WEB, Wenzel, John, Chinese New Year embracing tradition,www.denverpost.com/2008/01/09/chinese-new-year-embracing-tradition/, The Denver Post, 9 January 2008, 22 May 2020,web.archive.org/web/20191220164452/https://www.denverpost.com/2008/01/09/chinese-new-year-embracing-tradition/, 20 December 2019, live, In a journal article analyzing Falun Gong’s geopolitics, scholar Weihsuan Lin wrote: “Shen Yun’s ‘reviving five thousand years of civilization’ attempts to question and separate the entanglement between the Party and the State; it enacts, globally, an alternative geopolitical discourse in which a culturally rich and prosperous China without the CCP existed in the past and is coming again in the near future.“JOURNAL, Lin, Weihsuan, 2022-03-15, A China without the Chinese Communist Party: The Geopolitics of the Falun Gong,www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14650045.2020.1787383, Geopolitics, en, 27, 2, 501–525, 10.1080/14650045.2020.1787383, 1465-0045, In 2007, the company conducted its first tour with 90 dancers, musicians, soloists, and production staff.Adriana Rambay Fernandez, Dancing around the world {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214190917hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/17252040/article-Dancing-around-the-world-Local-teen-performs-in-classical-Chinese-dance-company-?instance=secondary_stories_left_column |date=14 December 2013 }}, Hudson Reporter, 22 January 2012. Early shows were titled “Chinese Spectacular”, “Holiday Wonders”,WEB,broadwayworld.com/article/Holiday_Wonders_Chinese_Meets_West_Extravaganza_20071115, Broadway World, Beau, Higgins, 15 November 2007, 2009-09-05, ‘Holiday Wonders’ Chinese Meets West Extravaganza, “Chinese New Year Splendor”, and “Divine Performing Arts”, but now the company performs exclusively under the name “Shen Yun”. By 2009, Shen Yun had developed three full companies and orchestras that toured the world simultaneously. By the end of the 2010 season, approximately one million people had seen the troupes perform.File:State Theater Playhouse Square - Epoch Times interview.png|thumb|right|New Tang Dynasty Television interview being conducted inside the State Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, during a Shen Yun performance. The television broadcaster is affiliated with Falun Gong.]]Shen Yun, the media organization The Epoch Times, and a variety of other organizations operate as extensions of Falun Gong. Los Angeles–based investigative reporter Samuel Braslow described Shen Yun’s background in March 2020: “Both Shen Yun and Epoch Times are funded and operated by members of Falun Gong, a controversial spiritual group that was banned by China’s government in 1999{{nbsp}}[...] Falun Gong melds traditional Taoist principles with occasionally bizarre pronouncements from its Chinese-born founder and leader, Li Hongzhi. Among other pronouncements, Li has claimed that aliens started invading human minds in the beginning of the 20th century, leading to mass corruption and the invention of computers. He has also denounced feminism and homosexuality and claimed he can walk through walls and levitate. But the central tenet of the group’s wide-ranging belief system is its fierce opposition to communism. In 2000, Li founded Epoch Times to disseminate Falun Gong talking points to American readers. Six years later he launched Shen Yun as another vehicle to promote his teachings to mainstream Western audiences. Over the years Shen Yun and Epoch Times, while nominally separate organizations, have operated in tandem in Falun Gong’s ongoing PR campaign against the Chinese government, taking directions from Li.“MAGAZINE, Braslow, Samuel, March 2020, Inside the Shadowy World of Shen Yun and Its Secret Pro-Trump Ties, Los Angeles Magazine,www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/shen-yun-trump/,web.archive.org/web/20200526081806/https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/shen-yun-trump/, May 26, 2020, July 1, 2023, {{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ().|date=October 2023}} Editor Chris Jennewein of MyNewsLA wrote that Los Angeles Magazine was sued for defamation in May 2020 by the Epoch Times, referring to Braslow’s news report.NEWS, Jennewein, Chris,mynewsla.com/crime/2020/05/26/epoch-times-files-slander-suit-against-los-angeles-magazine/, Epoch Times Files Slander Suit Against Los Angeles Magazine, May 26, 2020, MyNewsLA, October 22, 2023, Los Angeles Magazine pulled the piece from their website in July, as ordered by federal judge George H. Wu, and published a retraction notice in the September 2020 issue of the magazine.NEWS,mynewsla.com/crime/2020/07/20/judge-orders-los-angeles-magazine-to-remove-article-from-website/, Judge Orders Los Angeles Magazine to Remove Article from Website, July 20, 2020, MyNewsLA, October 22, 2023, BOOK, “Corrections”, September 2020, Los Angeles Magazine, 10,issuu.com/lamcs/docs/lam_0920, 23 October 2023, Shen Yun operates out of Falun Gong’s headquarters in the {{cvt|427|acre|km2|adj=on}} Dragon Springs compound in Deerpark, New York, where it has large rehearsal spaces. Dragon Springs is registered as a religious property under the church name Dragon Springs Buddhist.Hill, Michael (April 2019). “Falun Gong US compound’s neighbors fret over expansion plans”. Associated Press. The exact financial and structural connections between Falun Gong, Shen Yun, and The Epoch Times remain unclear. According to NBC News: “The Epoch Media Group, along with Shen Yun, a dance troupe known for its ubiquitous advertising and unsettling performances, make up the outreach effort of Falun Gong, a relatively new spiritual practice that combines ancient Chinese meditative exercises, mysticism and often ultraconservative cultural worldviews. Falun Gong’s founder has referred to Epoch Media Group as “our media”, and the group’s practice heavily informs The Epoch Times{{’}} coverage, according to former employees who spoke with NBC News. The Epoch Times, digital production company NTD and the heavily advertised dance troupe Shen Yun make up the nonprofit network that Li calls “our media”. Financial documents paint a complicated picture of more than a dozen technically separate organizations that appear to share missions, money and executives.”

Billing and promotion

Shen Yun promotes itself as “a presentation of traditional Chinese culture as it once was: a study in grace, wisdom, and virtues distilled from five millennia of Chinese civilization”. The company is described in promotions as reviving Chinese culture following a period of assault and destruction under the Chinese Communist Party. Shen Yun is heavily promoted in major cities with commercials, billboards, and brochures displayed in the streets and in businesses, as well as in television and radio profiles. According to Jia Tolentino of The New Yorker, “The ads have to be both ubiquitous and devoid of content so that they can convince more than a million people to pay good money to watch what is, essentially, religious-political propaganda—or, more generously, an extremely elaborate commercial for Falun Dafa’s spiritual teachings and its plight vis-à-vis the Chinese Communist regime.” Referencing the religious theme in The Last Judgment and the political theme in The Sound of Music, Yuefeng Wu, a PhD student in art history, wrote in a 2024 opinion piece for The Hill: “To take politics and religion as the sole end of Shen Yun’s art rather than its context is to deny the vital human experience of hope and kindness, which many of its audiences, whatever their political and religious orientations, are already taking away from it.“WEB, Wu, Yuefeng, 2024-03-05, The real reason communist China is afraid of Shen Yun,thehill.com/opinion/international/4500639-the-real-reason-communist-china-is-afraid-of-shen-yun/, 2024-03-23, The Hill, en-US, Shen Yun performances are often presented or sponsored by regional Falun Dafa associations,WEB, 2019-03-28, Persecuted religious group sponsors Shen Yun,www.times-herald.com/faith/persecuted-religious-group-sponsors-shen-yun/article_ed02cc06-0469-59fb-924e-d7bc438d9424.html, The Newnan Times-Herald, en, WEB, Shen Yun,www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/dance/2023-2024/shen-yun/, The Kennedy Center, en, members of Falun Gong, which has been labeled a “cult” and banned by the Chinese government.WEB, Pomfret, John, November 12, 1999, Cracks in China’s Crackdown,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-11/12/062r-111299-idx.html, 2024-03-02, The Washington Post, Some audience members have objected to the show’s promotion strategy, which does not note the religious- and political-themed content of the performance.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/nyregion/06splendor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch, Konigsberg, Eric, 6 February 2008, The New York Times, 23 February 2017,www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/nyregion/06splendor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin," title="web.archive.org/web/20170122212413www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/nyregion/06splendor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin,">web.archive.org/web/20170122212413www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/nyregion/06splendor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, 22 January 2017, live, WEB,www.buffalonews.com/song__dance_spectacular_not_exactly_what_it_seems.html, Song & dance spectacular not exactly what it seems, Dabkowski, Colin, 30 May 2010, Buffalo News, 21 June 2010, NEWS,www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/many-atlantans-ok-with-277268.html, Many Atlantans OK with Chinese dance troupe’s politics, Pousner, Howard, 17 January 2012, 23 April 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, dead,www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/many-atlantans-ok-with-277268.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110830213618www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/many-atlantans-ok-with-277268.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110830213618www.accessatlanta.com/AccessAtlanta-sharing_/many-atlantans-ok-with-277268.html, 30 August 2011, Jim Kershner of The Spokesman-Review reported that while the show contained “a religious-political message”, “[t]he vast majority of the show, however, has no overt message. It is dedicated mainly to keeping alive the traditional forms of Chinese music and dance that were suppressed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and in subsequent decades.“WEB, Kershner, Jim, May 21, 2009, Splendor of Shen Yun,www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/splendor-of-shen-yun/,web.archive.org/web/20151118003102/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/splendor-of-shen-yun/, November 18, 2015, The Spokesman-Review, Chicago Tribune’s Gisela Orozco also noted that Shen Yun offered, “in a few passages, critical allusions to the communism that governs its country of origin, but without abounding on the subject.“In 2021, the troupe began billing its shows as “China Before Communism”.NEWS, Shen Yun Performing Arts is bring its newest show to Utah, KUTV, Salt Lake City, July 6, 2021,kutv.com/features/fresh-living/shen-yun-performing-arts-is-bring-its-newest-show-to-utah, November 28, 2021,

Content

Dance

Large-scale group dance is at the center of Shen Yun productions. Each touring company consists of about 40 male and female dancers, who mainly perform classical Chinese dances, making extensive use of acrobatic and tumbling techniques, forms and postures.WEB, Lindblom, Jeffrey, 2021-07-22, Rapid City hosts Shen Yun, a performance through 5,000 years of Chinese history,www.blackhillsfox.com/2021/07/22/rapid-city-hosts-shen-yun-performance-through-5000-years-chinese-history/, 2023-10-29, blackhillsfox.com, en, WEB, May 4, 2015, Shen Yun - 6abc Loves the Arts,6abc.com/shen-yun---6abc-loves-the-arts-long-lost-art-of-classical-chinese-dance-is-coming-to-merriam-theater/695248/, 2023-10-29, 6abc.com, en, Shen Yun’s repertoire draws on stories from Chinese history and legends, such as the legend of Mulan,WEB,www.inlander.com/content/arts_culture_shen_yun_performing_arts_inb_center/, The Pacific Northwest Inlander, 15 November 2009, International Incident, dead,www.inlander.com/content/arts_culture_shen_yun_performing_arts_inb_center," title="web.archive.org/web/20090525173622www.inlander.com/content/arts_culture_shen_yun_performing_arts_inb_center,">web.archive.org/web/20090525173622www.inlander.com/content/arts_culture_shen_yun_performing_arts_inb_center, 25 May 2009, Journey to the West and Outlaws of the Marsh. It also depicts “the story of Falun Gong today”. During the 2010 production, at least two of the 16 scenes depicted “persecution and murder of Falun Gong practitioners” in contemporary China, including the beating of a young mother to death, and the jailing of a Falun Gong protester. In addition to classical Han Chinese dance, Shen Yun also includes elements of Yi, Miao, Tibetan and Mongolian dance.Shen Yun performs three core elements of classical Chinese dance: bearing (emotion, cultural and ethnic flavor), form (expressive movements and postures), and technical skill (physical techniques of jumping, flipping, and leaping). Shen Yun choreographer Vina Lee has stated that some of the distinct Chinese bearing ({{transliteration|zh|yun}}) has been “lost in the process” since the cultural changes of the Communist revolution.

Music

Shen Yun dances are accompanied by Chinese instruments: the {{transliteration|zh|pipa, suona, dizi, guzheng}}, and a variety of Chinese percussion instruments. A full Western orchestra leads the melodies.Elina Shatkin. Vina leads Divine Performing Arts’ Chinese New Year Spectacular {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913051624articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/01/entertainment/et-guideevent1 |date=13 September 2015 }}. Los Angeles Times. 1 January 2009. There are solo performances featuring Chinese instruments such as the {{transliteration|zh|erhu}} in between dances.WEB,www.concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=6204, concertonet.com, Sparacino, Micaele, 19 January 2010, 29 January 2010, Deities, Dragons, Dancers, and Divas,concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=6204," title="web.archive.org/web/20101005212312concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=6204,">web.archive.org/web/20101005212312concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=6204, 5 October 2010, live, Interspersed between dance sequences, other than the {{transliteration|zh|erhu}} performances, are operatic singers performing songs which sometimes invoke spiritual or religious themes, including references to the Falun Gong faith.NEWS, Citron, Paula, A dazzling show with a clear message,ahdu88.blogspot.ca/2008_01_01_archive.html, 31 October 2012, The Globe and Mail, 22 January 2008,ahdu88.blogspot.ca/2008_01_01_archive.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130310023539ahdu88.blogspot.ca/2008_01_01_archive.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130310023539ahdu88.blogspot.ca/2008_01_01_archive.html, 10 March 2013, live, A performance in 2007, for instance, included a reference to the Chakravartin, a figure in Buddhism who turns the wheel of Dharma.Joel Markowitz, ‘January Pleasures’ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225072851dctheatrescene.com/2007/01/28/january-pleasures/ |date=25 December 2010 }}, DC Theatre Scene, 28 January 2007.The music for Shen Yun was composed by Jing Xian and Junyi Tan. Three of Shen Yun’s performers—flutist Ningfang Chen, erhuist Mei Xuan and tenor Guan Guimin—were recipients of the Chinese Ministry of Culture’s “National First Class Performer” awards. Prior to joining Shen Yun, Guan Guimin was well known in China for his work on soundtracks for more than 50 movies and television shows. Other notable performers include {{transliteration|zh|erhu}} soloist Xiaochun Qi.Robert Baxter, “New Year show, old traditions preserve Chinese culture,” Courier Post, 30 December 2007.

Costume and backdrops

File:Seongho Jimmy Cha Dance competition finals.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Shen Yun dancer Seongho ChaSeongho ChaShen Yun’s dancers perform wearing intricate costumes, often accompanied by a variety of props. Some costumes are intended to imitate the dress of various ethnicities, while others depict ancient Chinese court dancers, soldiers, or characters from classic stories. Props include colorful handkerchiefs, drums, fans, chopsticks, or silk scarves.Paula Citron. A dazzling show with a clear message. The Globe and Mail: Arts. 22 January 2008.Each Shen Yun piece is set against a digitally projected backdrop, usually depicting landscapes such as Mongolian grasslands, imperial courts, ancient villages, temples, or mountains.WEB,www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=5979, San Francisco Bay Times, Goodwyn, Albert, 11 January 2007, 5 September 2009, Chinese New Year Spectacular,www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=5979," title="web.archive.org/web/20120229125437www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=5979,">web.archive.org/web/20120229125437www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=5979, 29 February 2012, live, Meredith Galante. A Day In The Life Of A Professional Dancer In A Traditional Chinese Company {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127222803www.businessinsider.com/chinese-traditional-dance-shen-yun-performing-arts-at-lincoln-center-2012-1#this-years-sets-are-3-d-adding-21st-century-technology-to-the-show-about-traditions-13 |date=27 January 2012 }}. Business Insider. 11 January 2012. Some backdrops contain moving elements, such as digital versions of the dancers, that integrate with the performance.

Tours

Shen Yun’s eight companies tour for six months each year, performing in over 130 cities in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America. Notable venues include the David H. Koch Theater at New York’s Lincoln Center in Manhattan;“Shen Yun Performing Arts” {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127132928www.davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoSY.html |date=27 January 2013|accessdate=8 April 2018}} David H. Koch Theater. the London Coliseum in London, England; the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy;WEB, Shen Yun - 5000 anni di civiltà rinascono,www.teatrosancarlo.it/en/spettacoli/shen-yun.html, Teatro San Carlo, 20 June 2023, and the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. By the conclusion of Shen Yun’s 2010 performance, an estimated one million people had seen the performance worldwide.Shen Yun does not perform in China and the Chinese government has attempted to cancel Shen Yun performances elsewhere through political pressure exerted by its foreign embassies and consulates.International Religious Freedom Report 2010 Report, 17 November 2010. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and LaborMoldova country report {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/202002202228312009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148963.htm |date=20 February 2020 }}, 17 November 2010. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and LaborRomania country report {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/202002202231202009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148975.htm |date=20 February 2020 }}, 17 November 2010. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and LaborUkraine country report {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/202002202230312009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148993.htm |date=20 February 2020 }}, 17 November 2010. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Chinese diplomats have also sent letters to elected officials in the West exhorting them not to attend or otherwise support the performance, which they describe as “propaganda” intended to “smear China’s image.“Keegan Hamilton, Chinese Government Kindly Reminds Seattle Officials About the ‘Evil Cult’ Coming to Town {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209053005blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/02/chinese_government_seattle_officials_evil_cult.php |date=9 February 2012 }}, Seattle Weekly, 6 February 2012.“Chinese New Year Spectacular ‘just propaganda’: Chinese Embassy” {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120721021145www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2007/01/17/chinese.html |date=21 July 2012 }}, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 January 2007. Members of the Communist Party’s top political consultative body have also expressed concern that China’s state-funded arts troupes have been less popular internationally than Shen Yun.NEWS, Li, Raymond, State-funded arts troupes fail to shine against Falun Gong rivals abroad,www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1185824/state-funded-arts-troupes-fail-shine-against-falun-gong-rivals-abroad, 26 April 2013, South China Morning Post, 8 March 2013,www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1185824/state-funded-arts-troupes-fail-shine-against-falun-gong-rivals-abroad," title="web.archive.org/web/20130315055705www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1185824/state-funded-arts-troupes-fail-shine-against-falun-gong-rivals-abroad,">web.archive.org/web/20130315055705www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1185824/state-funded-arts-troupes-fail-shine-against-falun-gong-rivals-abroad, 15 March 2013, live, Shen Yun representatives say the Chinese government’s opposition to the show stems from its depictions of modern-day political oppression in China, and that it includes expressions of traditional Chinese cultural history that the Communist government has tried to suppress.WEB, Regina, Weinreich, Beauty and the Beast: Shen Yun at Lincoln Center, 24 August 2011, The Huffington Post,www.huffpost.com/entry/beauty-and-the-beast-shen_b_884203, 13 August 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230317212419/www.huffpost.com/entry/beauty-and-the-beast-shen_b_884203, 17 March 2023, live, Shen Yun was scheduled to perform in Hong Kong in January 2010, but the event was cancelled after the government refused entry visas to Shen Yun’s production crew.NEWS, Agence France-Presse,www.mysinchew.com/node/34582, Falungong decries HK as democracy row deepens, 27 January 2010, My Sinchew, 1 February 2010,www.mysinchew.com/node/34582," title="web.archive.org/web/20161112110325www.mysinchew.com/node/34582,">web.archive.org/web/20161112110325www.mysinchew.com/node/34582, 12 November 2016, live, Attempts to shut down the show have also been reported by theatres and local governments in various countries including Ecuador, Ireland, Germany and Sweden.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/12/shen-yun-falun-gong-traditional-chinese-dance-troupe-china-doesnt-want-you-to-see, The traditional Chinese dance troupe China doesn’t want you to see, 12 December 2017, Nicholas, Hune-Brown, The Guardian, 12 December 2017,web.archive.org/web/20171219160004/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/12/shen-yun-falun-gong-traditional-chinese-dance-troupe-china-doesnt-want-you-to-see, 19 December 2017, live,

Symphony orchestra

File:MN-Kennedy Center-SYSO.jpg|thumb|Milen Nachev with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center ]]In October 2012, Shen Yun’s symphony orchestra made its debut performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. The performance featured conductors Milen Nachev, Keng-Wei Kuo, and Antonia Joy Wilson, and the program included both classical works such as Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major, as well as original compositions that fuse Chinese and Western instruments.WEB, Carnegie Hall,www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2012/10/28/0200/PM/Shen-Yun-Symphony-Orchestra/, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, 28 October 2012,www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2012/10/28/0200/PM/Shen-Yun-Symphony-Orchestra/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140912175155www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2012/10/28/0200/PM/Shen-Yun-Symphony-Orchestra/,">web.archive.org/web/20140912175155www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2012/10/28/0200/PM/Shen-Yun-Symphony-Orchestra/, 12 September 2014, .In 2013, the symphony orchestra toured seven American cities. In addition to Carnegie Hall, it performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.WEB, Shen Yun Performing Arts to Return to Lincoln Center, 1/10-19,www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Shen-Yun-Performing-Arts-to-Return-to-Lincoln-Center-110-19-20131114, broadwayworld, 14 November 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181114224127/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Shen-Yun-Performing-Arts-to-Return-to-Lincoln-Center-110-19-20131114, 14 November 2018, live, In 2023, the orchestra made its debut at David Geffen Hall in New York, with classical works and original compositions.WEB, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra,www.lincolncenter.org/venue/david-geffen-hall/shen-yun-symphony-orchestra-772, Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, 22 October 2023, {{Third-party inline|date=October 2023|reason=third-party RS needed for }}

Reception

Sid Smith of Chicago Tribune wrote that a 2008 Shen Yun performance was “more uneven” than other cultural performances he had seen, but that the women dancers were “a beautiful and haunting ensemble” with “a nimble mastery of traditional talents.“NEWS, Smith, Sid, Women flow like water in spectacle,www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-01-28-0801270151-story.html, 16 June 2023, Chicago Tribune, Jan 28, 2008,articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-28/features/0801270151_1_dance-chinese-traditional," title="web.archive.org/web/20131213085222articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-28/features/0801270151_1_dance-chinese-traditional,">web.archive.org/web/20131213085222articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-28/features/0801270151_1_dance-chinese-traditional, 13 December 2013, Sarah Crompton of The Daily Telegraph wrote of a 2008 Shen Yun performance: “This show is advertised as a Chinese spectacular – a kind of Eastern version of Cirque du Soleil. It is nothing of the kind. Acrobatics, singing and dancing skills are used in the service of a propaganda exercise on the part of Falun Gong ... But what I really object to is that such a politically motivated performance is being smuggled on to stages around Europe in the name of family entertainment.“WEB, Crompton, Sarah, February 25, 2008, Shen Yun: Propaganda as entertainment,www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/3671451/Shen-Yun-Propaganda-as-entertainment.html, live,web.archive.org/web/20220113152836/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/3671451/Shen-Yun-Propaganda-as-entertainment.html, January 13, 2022, 2022-02-17, The Daily Telegraph, Regina Weinreich wrote in a HuffPost blog that Shen Yun’s debut at Lincoln Center in 2011 “enacts the rich cultural heritage of China” and noted some descriptions of oppression in the performance. Fashion designer Donna Karan and her Urban Zen foundation hosted celebrities at an opening night and said, “I love when it gets into the soul”.NEWS, Lawrence, Vanessa, Shen Yun,www.wmagazine.com/story/after-hours-shen-yun, 2 July 2023, W (magazine), June 24, 2011, Laura Falcoff, writing in the Argentinian newspaper Clarín, described Shen Yun in 2012 as a “spectacular production that beautifully combines China’s ancient traditions with cutting-edge technological advancements” and called it an “ideal performance for audiences of all ages, especially children.“NEWS, Falcoff, Laura, El baile de las tradiciones milenarias,www.clarin.com/espectaculos/teatro/baile-tradiciones-milenarias_0_829117200.html, 1 July 2023, Clarín, December 15, 2012,www.clarin.com/espectaculos/teatro/baile-tradiciones-milenarias_0_829117200.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121219010316www.clarin.com/espectaculos/teatro/baile-tradiciones-milenarias_0_829117200.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121219010316www.clarin.com/espectaculos/teatro/baile-tradiciones-milenarias_0_829117200.html, 19 December 2012, Carmen Del Val of the Spanish newspaper El País wrote that a 2014 performance was “an explosion of color and energy”.NEWS, Del Val, Carmen, Bailando por Falun Gong en el TNC,elpais.com/ccaa/2014/04/11/catalunya/1397215561_320940.html, 17 June 2023, El País, April 11, 2014,web.archive.org/web/20220126212241/https://elpais.com/ccaa/2014/04/11/catalunya/1397215561_320940.html, 26 January 2022, Rachel Molenda of Charleston Gazette-Mail wrote of a 2015 Shen Yun performance at the Clay Center, where the audience gave a standing ovation, “The pairing of projected backgrounds and animation with real-time performance (dance and orchestral) was surreal. Sometimes I questioned whether the musicians, whose compositions were lovely, were really there.“NEWS, Molenda, Rachel, Feb 3, 2015, Shen Yun delivers lyrical, storied performance,www.wvgazettemail.com/arts__entertainment/shen-yun-delivers-lyrical-storied-performance/article_27a4f17c-ff2b-506c-99c7-49c761acafe3.html,archive.today/20230805230417/https://www.wvgazettemail.com/arts__entertainment/shen-yun-delivers-lyrical-storied-performance/article_27a4f17c-ff2b-506c-99c7-49c761acafe3.html, 5 Aug 2023, 22 October 2023, Charleston Gazette-Mail, Gisela Orozco of Chicago Tribune wrote that a 2016 Shen Yun performance emphasized “the cultural part and faith that existed before in China,” presented “fables told with dance and music, which talk about philosophy, literature and art”, and expressed values “such as loyalty, kindness, bravery, love”.WEB, Orozco, Gisela, 2016-03-17, Shen Yun: La belleza de la cultura china,www.chicagotribune.com/2016/03/17/shen-yun-la-belleza-de-la-cultura-china/,web.archive.org/web/20240327120326/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/03/17/shen-yun-la-belleza-de-la-cultura-china/, March 27, 2024, Chicago Tribune, The 2018 and 2019 performances included lyrics and digital displays disparaging atheism and belief in evolution as “deadly ideas”, leading to complaints by some attenders that the shows were “anti-evolution”, resembled a “religious sermon”, or were “cult propaganda.“WEB,www.chron.com/entertainment/article/shen-yun-cult-falun-gong-china-ads-show-reviews-13484697.php, You’ve seen the ads. But what’s the deal with Shen Yun?, Martichoux, Alix, 2018-12-21, Houston Chronicle, 2019-01-07,web.archive.org/web/20190107233303/https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/shen-yun-cult-falun-gong-china-ads-show-reviews-13484697.php, 7 January 2019, live, An article in the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis said the political message of Shen Yun “feels more like propaganda than straightforwardly presented cultural heritage.“WEB,www.startribune.com/shen-yun-politics-behind-the-performance/290985131/, Shen Yun: Politics behind the performance, Tillotson, Kristin, 6 February 2015, Star Tribune, 2019-01-07,www.startribune.com/shen-yun-politics-behind-the-performance/290985131/," title="web.archive.org/web/20190107233229www.startribune.com/shen-yun-politics-behind-the-performance/290985131/,">web.archive.org/web/20190107233229www.startribune.com/shen-yun-politics-behind-the-performance/290985131/, 7 January 2019, live, Jia Tolentino wrote in The New Yorker that a scene in the show contained homophobia. Alix Martichoux from the Houston Chronicle wrote, “For many disgruntled Shen Yun attendees, it’s not necessarily that the show itself is bad – though to be fair, some complain it is. Most of the negative reviews were people upset they were blindsided by the political content.” Tolentino described a scene: “Chairman Mao appeared, and the sky turned black; the city in the digital backdrop was obliterated by an earthquake, then finished off by a Communist tsunami. A red hammer and sickle glowed in the center of the wave{{nbsp}}[...] a huge, bearded face [disappeared] in the water{{nbsp}}[...] a tsunami with the face of Karl Marx.“MAGAZINE, Tolentino, Jia, Jia Tolentino, 2019-03-19, Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun,www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun, live, The New Yorker,web.archive.org/web/20190824041619/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun, 24 August 2019, 20 March 2019, Pablo M. Díez of the Spanish newspaper ABC wrote in 2023, “Shen Yun’s shows are a dazzling combination of dance and music with synchronized choreography in majestic settings.“NEWS, Díez, Pablo, Shen Yun, la danza que los chinos no pueden ver, llega a España,archive.today/20230130145430/https://www.abc.es/cultura/shen-danza-chinos-pueden-llega-espana-20230130191039-nt.html, 17 June 2023, ABC, Jan 30, 2023, In a 2023 Washington Post opinion piece, Emily Needham, a Ph.D. student in history, drew parallels between Shen Yun and Cold War-era U.S. State Department’s cultural diplomacy programs, describing both as being “built on the idea that dance can transcend language differences and build mutual understanding with audiences through a shared cultural experience.” She concluded: “Today’s Shen Yun performances are grand, with a large cast of 180 brilliant dancers, spectacular sets and bright colors. Dance can be beautiful while also performing political arguments. They are not mutually exclusive.“NEWS, Needham, Emily, 2023-02-01, Perspective {{!, Shen Yun has a political message. That shouldn’t be a surprise. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/02/01/dance-cultural-diplomacy-shen-yun/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402041226www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/02/01/dance-cultural-diplomacy-shen-yun/ |archive-date=April 2, 2023 |access-date=2023-12-09 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

Chinese government interference

The Chinese government has attempted to stop the group from performing abroad by pressuring theatre managersBOOK, Hamilton, Clive, Ohlberg, Mareike, Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World, 2021, Optimum Publishing International, Canada, 9780888903082,books.google.com/books?id=GI1UEAAAQBAJ, 11 May 2023, or sending letters or e-mails to theaters in multiple countries,WEB, Moldova,2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148963.htm, 2020-07-13, U.S. Department of State, WEB, Romania,2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148975.htm, 2020-07-13, U.S. Department of State, including Ireland, Germany,WEB, Zeitung, Berliner, Zensur: Chinesische Botschaft wollte Tanztheater verhindern,www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/zensur-chinesische-botschaft-wollte-tanztheater-verhindern-li.17076, 2020-09-29, Berliner Zeitung, 12 February 2014, de-DE, and Sweden.WEB, 2017-10-02, Selling China by the Sleeve Dance,hazlitt.net/longreads/selling-china-sleeve-dance, 2020-09-29, Hazlitt, en, According to Shen Yun, the Chinese government also attempted to cancel Shen Yun’s performance in Hong Kong by rejecting the entry visas of six members.WEB, 2011-01-21, In Shen Yun, colorful past meets dark oppression,www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/In-Shen-Yun-colorful-past-meets-dark-oppression-968479.php, 2020-09-29, Times Union, en-US, WEB, 26 January 2020, Dance troupe cancels Falun Gong shows,www.scmp.com/article/704659/dance-troupe-cancels-falun-gong-shows, live,web.archive.org/web/20200929030050/https://www.scmp.com/article/704659/dance-troupe-cancels-falun-gong-shows, 29 September 2020, 29 September 2020, South China Morning Post, In a 2024 opinion piece for The Hill, Yuefeng Wu, a PhD student in art history, argued that the Chinese government’s efforts to interfere stem from fear, that Shen Yun’s portrayal of “what China was and could be without the Communist Party” challenges the regime’s proclaimed legitimacy as the embodiment of Chinese civilization.

See also

{{Commons category|Shen Yun Performing Arts}}

• Dance in the United States

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• JOURNAL, Chan, Lik Sam, Emotional duplex in the nation (de-)branding: a case study of China and Shen Yun Performing Arts, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 2016, 33, 2, 139–153, 10.1080/15295036.2015.1129547, 146994119,
• The traditional Chinese dance troupe China doesn’t want you to see, Nicholas Hune-Brown, theguardian.com, 12 December 2017

External links

{{Commons category-inline}}

• {{Official websitewww.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/ }}

{{Falun Gong}}{{Authority control}}