Not gonna lie, I just got an ad from them and liked the music so I was curious and looked them up. I was not expecting this video to be the first thing that popped up 😂

How weird is this? I got a youtube commercial for Shen Yun in the middle of watching this scathing review of Shen Yun. Anyone else?

Sounds like the chinese version of scientology, except bigger and better funded.

Those unnamed symbols were borrowed from Buddhism, though the particular symbol is used throughout various eastern religions. I know what I've said is often repeated, but isn't it kind of a cheap shot to point it out without explaining it? There's plenty else wrong with the cult without having to resort to that

One minute 29 seconds into this video and guess what? Yup. An ad for Shen Yun. Coming to a venue near me (Wales) in February!

I had no idea they ran the Epoch Times.

Algorithm was spot-on recommending this one to me, lol. I thought I was the only person who spent this much time bewildered by Shen Yun.

I went to one of the shows, around 2017, totally deceived by the false advertising. I realized less than halfway through that instead of traditional Chinese culture, I was watching a play, disguised as dancing, about a persecuted religious cult. There were kids in the audience, so I found the part where some actors/dancers were tortured by electric shock to be inappropriate. It's fine to make a play and dance show about their religion and hardships, but PLEASE BE HONEST in the advertising!!! I was so upset that I walked out early. Oh, and about the traditional Chinese dancing and music for the actual dance numbers... totally false. It's mostly modern dance/ballet and western music, with a Chinese influence. Thank you for making this video, btw!

I was confused at first when you mentioned the "Epic Times". I've always heard "epoch" pronounced as "ee-pok".

Rumor: they have a history of hiring local musicians in towns where they go on tour. They'll ask musicians to sign something saying implying that they've joined the religion, and then back out on actually paying the musicians because they're now part of the cult and their time was a "donation". Heard this from multiple sources.

Bought 2 tix for my mom (80) and aunt last year. I lied and told them i got it for free otherwise they would insist i take the grandkids. They never go anywhere, never spend any money on themselves and are your typical cheapskate immigrant parents from China. They had a great time and really enjoyed the colorful dancing and music. Whatever political or cult messages there were went over their heads. Just happy that they had a good time and can undertand the language....lol. i also had to remind them not to spit when we are at the theater....lol

One should pay attention to how those dancers were physically and psychologically abused and lowly paid, according to a few former runaway leaders in the organization.

I just got done watching shen yun in Milwaukee literally 2 hours ago. I really enjoyed their performances.

You failed to point out the widespread use of the Buddhist swastika. You’ve responded to commenters elsewhere pointing out that the more recent use of the symbol is more “well-known” - again, you totally fail to recognize that may well be the case from a westerner’s perspective. New temples built across countries like Vietnam well after the holocaust feature the symbol proudly - and so they should! I really enjoyed the rest of the video but this part rubbed me the wrong way is all. Very well-produced and I have always been curious about their performances so good video otherwise. Cheers and much love from Canada!

I got tickets for my birthday, I loved the show, the dancing and music was amazing. As a Christian I found nothing in the show offensive but was shocked by some of the song lyrics and wondered how other people who don't share my beliefs in the audience would feel hearing that. Overall glad I went but knowing some of this not sure I'd purchase tickets for myself in the future

An ad for Shen Yun literally came up before you were at balcony part. I was confused if it was part of your video or actual advertisement

ngl their LED screen backdrop looks like it was made in imovie too.

It's no suprise to me that a religious group like this, once it found it's way to the West ( America in particular), that it suddenly rose quickly in popularity, and in profits. And also was able to develop a strong presence in political media. No coincidence to me.

Their posters are all over the London underground, every single year. And they don't seem to mind using broken English on their posters, you would think they would hire someone to check it.

I worked the show backstage and thought "this is really cool propoganda"

It was during the lockdown that I got hammered with ads for The Epoch Times on youtube. I can see how these ads would be very appealing to people who prefer right wing conspiracy theories. As for people who say that Shen Yun/Falun Dafa/Epoch Times have a right to their opinion, well, I can't stop them. But as the saying goes, you are entitled to you own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

Hi Adam, thanks for this dig into Shen Yun, for conflicts of interests, I will first and foremost say that I am a Falun Gong practitioner, and I do see Shen Yun when I do have the time. I do think it is a beautiful show so I am a bit concerned that the video you made may come across as a bit biased. But I may also be biased so take what you will. Like how the SY advertisements depict, most of its performance is traditional chinese dance and only a small fraction is on FLG. The show on average has around 20 individual performances, usually 16- 17 will be dances, 2 will be songs, and 1 will usually be a instrumental virtuoso. Of the 20 performances, I will say that only around 20 percent mentions FLG or the persecution. FLG do not promote homophobia or far-right conspiracies nor do the performances depict these ideas. I am aware that wikipedia has taken many of FLG's teachings out of context, but if I am wrong, I will appreciate if you can send me a reference to the original text. The FLG performances in SY mostly are trying to raise awareness of the persecution in China, promote the tenets of the practice: truth compassion, and forbearance, as well as the belief that there may be high powers operating in our lives, so that obviously may touch upon atheism and evolution. I think regardless of whether a person is religious or not, truth, compassion, and forbearance are common values anyone can relate to. Regardless of the 20 percent FLG content, SY is a world class traditional Chinese dance show by itself, all of the performers are highly skilled and the whole performance is a great experience. For each show you get a live orchestra that combines both eastern and western instruments, a cinematic and animated backdrop, plus a whole new performance every year... Ballet dancers, martial artists, composers, conducters, producers, designers and millions of people who have seen SY gave raving reviews about the show...so all I am saying is, even if you don't like the FLG content, SY is still a great show, otherwise why would we see such a huge exponential growth in these 20 years. Before anyone says that SY's gotten big because of FLG money...if you have probed into FLG texts, you will know that donations from FLG practitioners to SY is discouraged, especially donations higher than 1k.

Wow! Ive bought 7 tickets for tomorrow's show in my area. I was originally excited but now I almost wish I wasnt going

I went to a Shen Yu event in Germany back in 2010. I was not aware what I was going to, a chinese colleague sold me the ticket. The artistic part of the show is good but the amount of blatant propaganda against the CCP is unbearable, I had to leave in the first pause (and I am against the politics and crimes of the CCP). The fake and exagerate praise that they give themselves is also unbearable.

Falong kong to Beijing is like Q-anon to white house.

I saw this very expensive show and felt very mislead. All the adverts showed it as a dance spectacle, but to me it seemed to be just a vehicle for some political and religious agenda and fundraising. I did not care for it.

great video, janky do thanky, i have had all these same questions for years, always saw the new poster every year.

The Shen Yun commercial came up twice during this video. 🙄

Why am I always being interrupted by ads for this on KZfaq?

I have gone twice. I wanted to experience other countries cultural dance. I enjoyed it, but felt twice was enough. No political intentions involved in my decisions at that time.

I got an ad from them before this video 😭

That pro tip regarding karma ratios got you a thumb's up, and will be checking out your other content.

How can you determine if a religion is a cult? Simply assess whether the founder of the religion is still alive or not.

Oh snap. Great video. Never would have thought to connect all these dots. Thank you.

I saw their show recently, to me it was like a cross between lovely ballet and an LSD trip...

I really appreciate you making this video, but the Buddhist symbol that looks like a swastika is just not correlated to nazism at all. If you go to Eastern Asia, it’s everywhere, it’s a universal symbol for Buddhism. It’s on maps, signs, temples. I absolutely agree that these guys are weird, but making a jab at the supposed swastika is really Eurocentric and making an invalid critique like that just weakens your overall argument, even if all of the other points are solid.

They sound like a complex group with some (not all) disagreeable philosophies. They look beautiful. But man, I've seen so many ads on TV and posters on passing buses that it just puts me right off. Sick of the marketing. Thanks for the inside info. Not buying tickets.

Does the government seize their bank accounts without any due prosses for peacefully protesting?

Great video, thank you. I was fixing something while listening to a Glenn Kirschner video. At the end of the video was an ad, but i had my hands full so i couldn't press the skip ad button - wasnt paying any attention to it until i could finally go to skip the ad. Then i thought i saw Becky Kleefish gushing about whatever the ad was about. I've become very aware of and keen to propaganda/religion. I thought - there's no way our shitty ex-lieutenant governor would promote something that's JUST art, there's something sinister about her lending her name to it. Found your video and i thank you for doing the research on shen yun so i didn't have to. THANK YOU!

Guess now I will definitely buy tickets. You tried so hard to turn me away but instead made me want to support them even more!

I went a couple years back, the dancing was beautiful but the video screen was so outdated it was distracting. Definitely lots of senior groups were at the performance we went to.

Thanks, I needed to know the details about Shen Yun and you opened my eyes. lets say I visit China regularly

This will be interesting,Can't wait to hear you tell me what I think Shen Yun is . ,

literally got an ad from them right before this vid lol

Bro, thanks for explaining the lore behind all these ads

THANK YOU!! Inundated as I was when they first popped up, I found their ads to be revolting and annoying. CLEARLY the folks interviewed got in for free and were then either enticed, or required, to be effusive in their praise. But any watcher with a brain could easily see that this was some kind of propaganda. Sure enough, my own investigations revealed what Adam has posted here. I advise all of you to STAY CLEAR of these folks. They are manipulative, organized, have a specific agenda, and are SCARY. And BTW, their "dancers" use the same stupid moves used by the Flag Girls in College Marching Bands. As authentic Chinese as Chop Suey in a can!

There was literally an ad for it here 😂. I thought it was part of your video til I looked at the screen.

Some of the comments are disappointing, especially those by people who encourage you to see the show. I would encourage you NOT to see it, save your money, and feel good about not supporting such ignorance and hatred. Dressing a monster in silk doesn't make it less of a monster.

Adam, this is a controversial topic... I can't imagine a more balanced summary. Thank you very much for putting this together. I think people on both sides of the spectrum should start with this video and then do their own honest research from here.

I had no idea what Shen Yun was. Now I do, sort of. I don't know whether to cheer or jeer. This is a video I'd have to rewatch over and over to make any real comment, which I don't have time for, so Ill just leave it at: Nice video, as always.

I bought tickets a few years ago for a gift for some friends. We went.... yea not what expected. It was political and religious something i'd ever want to see again or suggest anyone go to.

Mymother insisted that we buy tickets to Shin Yun. This was in 2020. Needless to say all the performances were canceled. However, they were great in following up and making sure we got new tickets. unfortunately my mother passed away before the show came around again. I took a friend and we actually sat in the front row. I loved the dancing and the colors, but the propaganda disturbed me and look back at Chinese history also included propaganda. I had a real problem with soldiers and others prostrating themselves to the rulers. So, even though it was very beautiful, I’m not going again.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS, but I am physically disabled and in poor health. I tried to get tickets in Philadelphia but I was too sick and couldn't go. I am 90 minutes away and I couldn't find anyone to take me to the theater. I even offered to buy the tickets for someone who would take me but no one wanted to go.

That org has pretty much taken over my hometown. They own numerous businesses and schools here...its strange.

I kind of expected from this video that there would be some mention of what the show is about. But I've only heard what the show isn't about :D. Well, I agree that's a point too. But still...

Thank you for explaining all this I had non idea! I’m buying my ticket right now.

I just bought tickets for my family and am hoping to see an exquisitely beautiful performance full of colorful costumes and wonderful music. I like that they are anti-CCP, whom I consider to be a threat to the USA.

The amount of KZfaq ads it has with all these paid recognised figures in the entertainment industry complimenting it tells me I should not watch it whatsoever.

A? Is that you? Hope you are doing well! It’s good to see you.

This video was really well presented and produced, great job.

Very well put together video. Thank you

they are a cult

Edward was just asking me the same thing!

I'm so tired of the bombardment. It has a reverse effect on me. The "dances" all look like the same athletic/gymnastic stunts in somewhat different costumes. Not impressed.

Thanks for educating me. I have been wondering why the government oppresses this religion that seems peaceful but did not find it out until your video is in my recommended feed

I remember seeing ads for this show on billboard once I moved back to the United States.

I just saw this show last night. Like (I'm sure) practically everyone, I saw the ads and assumed it was something like a traditional Chinese style ballet. And for 95% of the show, it was. Some of the most breathtaking dancing, gymnastics, and artistry that you'll see anywhere. My mouth was hanging open. I only started learning about the stuff in this video a few hours before the show, which gave me a case of whiplash. I live in uber liberal Burlington Vermont, where this show is performed every year, so it blew my mind that it could have this other side to it and still be going on. I didn't see any anti-homosexuality stuff, but the other 5% of the show had a couple of songs that included lines denouncing atheism and evolution. The English translations were printed in the program but also broadcast on the screen providing the stage backdrop, so everyone could see if they didn't read it. The final dance was set in modern day China and concluded with three evil policemen closing in on some Falun Gong practitioners in a park. Just as they're about to attack the sky went dark, there were flashes of thunder and lightning which made them run away, and an enormous tsunami rose up over the high rise buildings in the background. Then the sky opened up and a messianic looking figure in a white robe descended. The modern imagery disappeared and was replaced by a golden background with hypnotic lines emanating toward the audience, while dancers came onto the stage in traditional celestial attire which seemed (to me) to symbolize the purer traditional ways making a comeback. It was surreal and felt kind of Jehovahs Witness-y. I'm not sorry I went the once, but I wouldn't have bought tickets in the first place if I had known about this and I won't be going back. As we were leaving the theater it was nothing but other audience members talking about what an amazing show it was, I feel like the propaganda elements went straight over most people's heads.

Apart from tge traditional Chinese ladies, it's kind of like an adult Chinese cocomelon

Well done and informative, thank you.

I just saw the show tonight for the 1st time. There was some propganda in 4 parts of the play, which was only like 1/4 of the whole play. They never mentioned or resembled anything about feminism, seprating the races, homophobia, or that medicine is bad. They did show and/or mention how terrible the CCP is; how faith can heal you; how the modern world is going down; how being humble/kind is something to stirve for; how being loyal to your significant other is important; and how following their religion will lead you to heaven. Overall not a bad of a message they were spreading. The performance from the dancing, singing, and music were all 10/10. Surprisingly, they did a good job using the digital background with preformers on stage sometimes "jumping" in and out of the screen. I wanna see it again next year to see what new stories they adapt or if they change some of the messages they spread throught the play.

The criticism has been around as long as they have been touring, they were based newyork l think many many years ago, l went to one of there performances in australia maybe 15 +years ago, maybe the best live performance both in orchestra, dance and costumes l will ever see , brillant and beauifull.

Wow; this is really well done. I keep getting high quality, low subscriber recommendations on my feed now. I think the AI is preparing for our final assimilation; I welcome access to your collective consciousness soon brother-father.

Shen Yun has a marketing/advertising budget that dwarfs the Manhattan Project. Before I go, I want to know who's bankrolling them.

Sometime things are not as complicated as it seems. I've learned if you want the answer always follow the money where it goes.

神韻在著名的表演藝術中心上演，但是神韻卻故意誤導觀眾，讓觀眾們誤以為是藝術中心邀請神韻來演出的，但實際上，神韻只是花大價錢租了這個場地，他們根本沒有受到邀請。而在觀眾觀看錶演之前，都會認為這是一場關於中國傳統文化的表演，但到演出開始之後，人們才知道這根本就是一場關於‘邪教’的演出。

Interesting, definitely going.

Just because the CCP is imperfect it doesn't mean China before communism was great....or honest....or drug free.

I’m from Sacramento California I’ve seen the shen advertisement on the highway since 2010 I was 15 I’m almost 30 and it’s become non stop 😂

I got an ad from shen yun WHILE watching this video 😭

I'm so excited to see it this year! ❤ This was funny to watch your spin on this. How absurd that another culture/population/people doesn't believe in your ideals. 😂 Oh, well.

Sounds awesome. I can’t wait to see it

Bro that’s a nice jacket;I recently bought my ticket do you think I have to wear a tux?

Wow. I really need to get tickets. A lot of times the people who have negative press against them are the ones I want to hear from just so I can stay balanced.

Very interesting video, I’m going myself to see it next week and was actually thinking it was a CCP-funded propaganda show, looks quite the opposite indeed! As you said, I’ll try to enjoy the show for what it is, definitely not sharing the ideology behind it.

Their ad played before I watched this video. They're coming for you.

We need Chinese people to explain more about this topic

When it quacks like a cult…and walks like a cult… it’s probably a cult…similar BS as most other cults and religions

Complete waste of money. If you need a good nap, 100% recommended. If not, avoid!

Wow I didn’t know they stood for traditional values. Respect.

Dude this quite dark about how you just sum this up for me. I was always thinking about going and now I have changed my mind about this! It kind of shook me to the core not to mention so many people being kidnapped or taken to prison camps. That kind make you wonder what are we watching these days or are we being watched? Go figure 😮

It is crazy expensive for something that is cultish propaganda. When I first heard about it I wanted to go to and watch and it costs R$ 500 (100 USD)

So long as you understand that it's propaganda, I believe you can still enjoy the beauty and skill involved in the show ... of course, I suppose some people would oppose giving them money, but at least it'd be well-earned

Really well produced video

The show is beautiful. You cannot review a movie without watching it first, even if it is based on a novel that you have read many times. There are so many details and settings that you won't have if you're just searching on the internet. I was skeptical about it for years before deciding to watch it in 2022. And I am really glad that I did. I watched it again in 2023 and 2024.

Guaranteed they get full CIA support also.

So the enemy of my enemy isn’t my friend Who knew

I was not expecting that "The Epoch Times" connection.

When my kid attended a Chinese afterschool in the U.S., one of the teachers offered to buy a ticket to take my kid to see Shenyun. Poor followers are forced to buy tickets to spread the cult, a recipe for success.

I knew the moment I saw the adverts that this was right wing propaganda. It just has that vibe. Had no idea it was connected to Epoch times though. However the adverts had my propaganda alarms blaring.

Everybody in the US thinks China is doing religious persecution but really it's more akin to banning Scientology and cults. Freedom religion has a downside in that it allows cults to exist, and dictatorships have the benefit of being able to ban religions that are obviously cults. China just toes the other side of the spectrum.