Factsheet

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.

Key Highlights:

•    Shen Yun’s founding artists knew that their story and the story of traditional Chinese culture could not be told in China, and therefore established Shen Yun in a free society.

•    Shen Yun is the fastest-growing performing arts company in American history.

•    To date, Shen Yun has performed in 36 countries, well over 200 cities, and in front of many millions worldwide.

•    Shen Yun is unique in that women of color hold a majority of leadership positions.

•    The CCP has used multiple ways to try to sway international opinion against Shen Yun, and has repeatedly tried sabotaging the company through documented criminal activity.

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 trying to destroy.

•    Shen Yun has funded its growth almost entirely from ticket sales and limited donations, not from government or corporate entities.

Dragon Springs – the Company’s Home:

•    Shen Yun is located in the Hudson Valley at a campus called Dragon Springs.

•    Dragon Springs is home to four entities:

•    Stunning Tang Dynasty-style temple buildings and gardens

•    An accredited performing arts academy and a college, called Fei Tian

•    Shen Yun’s administrative and rehearsal facilities

•    Dragon Springs is the only campus in the world reviving authentic Chinese culture on this depth and scale, training the next generation, and sharing it with the world via Shen Yun’s annual global tour.

Shen Yun Accomplishments at a Glance:

•    In the 19 years since it was established, Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally large performing companies—each with its own corps of dancers, orchestra, musical soloists, and production crew.

•    Shen Yun annually performs in some 200 cities across five continents, reaching over a million people every 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 halls like Tokyo Opera City and Taipei’s National Concert Hall in Asia.

•    In Taiwan, which shares a cultural heritage with mainland China, Shen Yun is a massive hit with dozens of sold-out shows every year.

•    Many audience members fly in to Taiwan from China especially to see Shen Yun.

•    Elected officials around the world have honored Shen Yun with proclamations, congratulatory letters, and celebrations of “Shen Yun Day.”

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 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.

•    Shen Yun’s primary art form is classical Chinese dance, which has thousands of years of history. All Shen Yun dancers have received systematic training in this dance form. Shen Yun is home to many of the world’s top classical Chinese dancers, with a large number of award winners among its ranks.

•    Each dance piece has new music, written for orchestra, composed specifically for it.

•    All costumes are designed in-house to fit with the storylines, eras, and movements featured in the dances. These too are created anew each year.

•   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 its own concert 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 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 (a.k.a. Falun Gong), which center around: “Truth, Compassion, Forbearance.”

•    Group meditation and studying of the practice’s teachings are part of the daily schedule.

•    No prima donnas: both a growth mindset and humility are highly valued within the company, with the goal of producing great artistry and great individuals. Everyone participates in different aspects of the production and it’s very common to see Shen Yun’s most celebrated singers setting up risers alongside stage hands, or principal dancers helping with load-out, for example.

•    Shen Yun performers are diverse, and include different nationalities as well as ethnic makeups. One of Shen Yun’s orchestras, for instance, includes musicians from the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Bulgaria and Taiwan. The other orchestras, dance companies, and production crews are likewise diverse.

Being an Artist with Shen Yun:

•    Many 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 just like dancers and athletes in other organizations, with some dancers, naturally, 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 sightseeing, shopping, and downtime.

CCP Interference:

•    From the very beginning, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has prevented Shen Yun from performing in China, even though it is the deepest wish of the company member to bring the show to China someday.

•    Chinese nationals have been arrested for their roles as agents trying to undermine Shen Yun in the U.S. Two Chinese spies were convicted in 2024 of attempting to bribe an IRS agent to target Shen Yun.

•    Performers’ family members who live 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 have found 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.

•    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 commentators to leave negative reviews online, and has paid to place negative articles in major newspapers around the world.

Audience Reactions:

•    One of Shen Yun’s marketing trademarks is the use of audience reaction video compilations. In addition to these, available on the company’s website are more than a thousand additional reviews from individual audience members.

•    To the company’s knowledge, not a single audience member has ever been paid or compensated for their remarks; there are no paid endorsements used in Shen Yun’s marketing.

•    An overwhelming majority of audience members rave about the performances, and standing ovations are common.