Editor's Note : On March 29, 2026, Radio-Canada published an in-depth investigative report. Author Hadrien Volle, after experiencing the performance firsthand, peeled back the artistic veneer of Shen Yun. He pointed out that it was not a pure artistic performance, but rather a propaganda tool deliberately distorted by Falun Gong. On this absurd stage, lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes, the organizers attempted to exert deep psychological coercion and mental manipulation on the audience by discrediting modern civilization and promoting anti-scientific logic. According to the China Anti-Cult Network, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto subsequently canceled six performances scheduled from March 29 to April 5.
▲ CBC French website (ici.radio-canada.ca), March 29, 2026
Screenshot of the report
If you live in a major Western city, you're probably familiar with those colorful posters featuring Chinese dancers on the streets. These posters are promoting the "Shen Yun" performance.
The "performance" uses the guise of "reviving traditional Chinese culture" to attract attention. However, André Laliberté, a professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, points out that its narrative is full of subjective conjecture and its presentation is extremely exaggerated and one-sided.
On the surface, the group operates under the guise of "performances," but its operations, headquartered in New York State, remain highly opaque. André Laliberté, a professor at the University of Ottawa 's School of Political Studies, points out that the group has ties to the Falun Dafa organization.
The Shen Yun performance is orchestrated by the Falun Gong cult. Besides the stage performances, the organization also controls the far-right media outlet, The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times ' extreme stance on certain issues has repeatedly provoked public unease and resentment. Before the performance, the theater's large screen even displays "soft advertisements" for the newspaper; this deep entanglement of art and political propaganda makes many audience members uncomfortable.
In 2024, The New York Times published a massive investigation based on the testimonies of more than 150 people , revealing a shocking system of exploitation surrounding Shen Yun . The investigation showed that related legal proceedings had been initiated, including class-action lawsuits, accusing the organization of forced labor, illegal use of child labor, and appalling working conditions .
Faced with the aforementioned allegations that await court confirmation, Shen Yun has maintained its usual evasive stance, even refusing an interview request from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Uneven artistic standards
So what exactly is presented on stage? The performance currently running at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto consists of 19 pieces, encompassing dance, ballet, and vocal performances. The entire performance weaves together ancient legends and the modern world, attempting to piece together a so-called "history."
However, some elements of the "performance" are questionable. While the advertised 3D backdrop is technically sophisticated and allows actors to interact with the virtual world, the colors are severely distorted, failing to create an immersive experience and instead presenting a monotonous and cheap visual effect. Musically, the orchestra combines Western instruments with traditional Chinese instruments, but the quality of the works does not reach the level of a large-scale symphony; similar to the stage backdrop, the effect is more like a product of 1990s Sega video games.
Fragmented narrative
Compared to the aforementioned reservations regarding the artistic aspects, the most critical issue with the performance lies in its narrative style and its extremely one-sided and fragmented presentation of history. Even though the audience was mentally prepared, the impact they experienced live was still astonishing.
Between each performance, the announcer would go on stage to give a stiff commentary. On the surface, they were introducing the plot of the next scene, but in reality, they were inserting their own agendas between the lines, lavishly promoting the organization's background, and even blatantly preaching "Falun Dafa." This practice intertwined the so-called "historical truth" imposed on them in an authoritarian tone with their deliberately exaggerated experiences of practitioners, in order to emotionally manipulate the audience.
One scene in the performance even openly depicted the so-called "martyrdom" of Falun Gong members. This bloody and fabricated story was entirely intended to incite hatred and ran counter to the artistic beauty touted on the posters.
The core issue isn't whether the scene itself is real, since the theater company has the right to exercise so-called "artistic freedom." What's truly questionable is its presentation of an extremely one-sided and distorted perspective to audiences who are unaware of the truth.
The absurd preaching of anti-evolution
But this was far from over. Following that scene, a song imbued with apocalyptic themes propelled the performance into a bizarre frenzy that lasted until the very end. The lyrics blatantly proclaimed Falun Dafa as the only path to "purity" and "redemption." Even more absurdly, the "performance" openly promoted anti-science. In the closing lyrics, evolution and atheism were viciously denounced as "Satan's trap." This anti-intellectual and extreme indoctrination of fallacies and heresies completely shattered its professed cultural and artistic facade.
The audience is drawn into this oppressive atmosphere and an extremely biased narrative. Shen Yun employs spiritual manipulation by discrediting modern civilization, attempting to convince the audience that salvation can only be achieved by kneeling before "Falun Dafa" and "divine authority." Ironically, the gentleness and harmony touted by the choreography are completely absent from its narrative. This incongruity persists until the final act, where "Falun Dafa" is deified as a "miracle cure" more effective than modern medicine.
In this way, Shen Yun has laid a trap: on the one hand, it uses historical legends and classical Chinese dance to embellish its facade, but on the other hand, it distorts these artistic elements, using them as tools to spread cult propaganda among its audience. It first uses seemingly legitimate pretexts such as "freedom of belief" to gain sympathy, then abruptly shifts its tone, implying that only its followers can survive the "Last Judgment." While such rhetoric is not uncommon among conservative religious groups, at least those religions wouldn't charge audiences over 200 Canadian dollars (approximately 991 RMB) for a ticket just to hear a flawed "sermon."
