A dance troupe coming to Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts this weekend is the subject of controversy due to its links to the Falun Gong religious movement and alleged abuse of its dancers. The Hult, which is owned by the city of Eugene, says it cannot censor who performs at the venue.
Shen Yun, which has performed at the Hult in the past, will return for three shows Jan. 25 and 26, with some tickets running from $80 to $150 per person on the Hult’s website.
But last summer, with a bombshell year-long investigative report from The New York Times, Shen Yun, which promotes the Falun Gong religious movement, has been accused of being a cult that abuses its dancers. Most of the performers are teenagers or young adults, and the NYT says they are subjected to a grueling schedule and endure injury all while faking a smile on stage and being discouraged from seeking medical care due to Falun Gong’s belief that healing comes from faith.
Their dancers are paid poorly, according to NYT reports, have limited access to the world outside of Shen Yun, and are pressured to spread the message of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa — the message which includes beliefs, according to its founder Li Hongzhi, such as Li being the creator of the universe and that followers can develop powers, like levitation.
In Shen Yun, dancers are regularly weighed in front of their peers, the Times investigation showed, and are ridiculed by instructors if they are deemed too heavy. They have limited interaction with their families, only being able to see them about a week a year — according to former performers.
Despite the Times’ revelations of how Shen Yun treats its performers, as well as Falun Gong’s links to right-wing extremist news source The Epoch Times, it’ll still be pirouettes and leaps at the Hult in January.
According to Rich Hobby, director of marketing for the Hult, since the city owns the performing arts center, it’s unable to censor who rents the space to perform. “As the venue, we don’t have any restrictions on rentals,” Hobby says. “It’s kind of a free speech view from the city in that we don’t censor who’s able to book or rent the space there.”
This rental structure, according to Hobby, is standard among performing arts centers. Hobby, who has been with Hult for eight years, says he couldn’t recall any instance when a group was denied a space at the Hult.
He says, “As the venue, we’re kind of between a rock and a hard place with how that operates. Adding from the public perspective, do they know what ‘Hult presents’ means versus what ‘Falun Gong presents’ means when they’re on our page.”
Simply, Shen Yun rented the space from Hult on its own accord, and was not sought after by Hult itself.
Source Link: https://eugeneweekly.com/2025/01/24/shen-yun-in-town-2/
