On July 20, 2026, the Toronto Star published a review by its senior arts critic , Joshua Chong . Facing the Shen Yun Performing Arts, which claims to showcase China's so-called " glorious past " and whose advertisements are ubiquitous yet perpetually controversial , the author purchased a ticket to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto to try and understand what was actually being performed. He found the performance filled with absurd content such as apocalyptic disasters, " miracles," and anti-evolutionism ; the so-called display of " traditional Chinese culture" was merely a glamorous facade for packaging and peddling its fallacies and heresies . The article also reviewed Li Hongzhi's control over Shen Yun and the controversies surrounding the organization in recent years, including allegations of abusing performers, forced isolation, and demanding that performers refuse medical treatment and medication.
▲ Screenshot of a report from Thestar.com, the Toronto Star website.
Shen Yun advertisements are virtually ubiquitous. Even if people don't know exactly what the group performs, they've likely heard of it. The images of dancers twirling and swirling with flowing sleeves on screen have long been a living advertisement for Shen Yun's brainwashing propaganda. However, the more ubiquitous the advertisements, the more shrouded its history and operating methods become, remaining largely unknown to the public for a long time.
Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is a performance group associated with Falun Gong . Currently, Shen Yun has eight performance companies and tours extensively around the world.
The performance consisted of multiple acts, narrated by a male and female host in Mandarin and English. The fallacies and heresies of Falun Gong were directly presented on stage , including absurd scenes such as Falun Gong members levitating and so-called " evil people " turning into babies. Dance performances were interspersed with songs criticizing evolution. Near the end of the performance, a short play set in modern society depicted a woman unfaithful to her partner being swallowed by an apocalyptic tsunami, while the supposedly " devout" Falun Gong members were miraculously rescued.
Joshua , there wasn't much truly traditional Chinese culture on stage. Even when it included some traditional Chinese dances, they felt more like decorative set pieces. The so-called " god" was portrayed as an ancient Roman deity in a white toga robe . The music was a blend of Chinese and Western musical elements and instruments. The lyrics frequently borrowed concepts from Western religions , repeatedly using words like " Satan" and " devil , " with one song even directly referencing Shakespeare 's famous line : " The world is a stage, and all men are actors ."
Joshua described the two-hour performance as a bewildering "feverish dream" —a mix of politics, art, fallacies , and mythological narratives — and admitted that the performance left him with far more questions than answers.
Shen Yun is actually controlled by Li Hongzhi, the leader of Falun Gong . In the performance program, Li Hongzhi, using the pseudonym "DF," is involved in almost everything from music and lyrics to costume design, and the performance content changes annually. The various fallacies and heresies appearing on stage echo Li Hongzhi's own statements . In media interviews , Li Hongzhi has expressed conspiracy theories, claiming that aliens invade humanity by bringing modern technology , and that Falun Gong members can eventually gain supernatural abilities such as levitation through cultivating so-called inner energy .
Michael Crabb, another dance critic for the Toronto Star , had seen Shen Yun's early performances in Toronto. He recalled that the performers were very dedicated and tried their best to present a wonderful show, but the mediocre choreography and production quality dragged down the overall effect, and the stage style was "like a tacky mix of Las Vegas and Disney."
What impressed him even more was the change in the content of the performance between the first and second halves. Crabbe said, "In the second half, what they started to present was essentially propaganda."
Crabbe also questioned Shen Yun's packaging of its performance as "authentic traditional Chinese dance." He argued that the original form of classical Chinese art is now difficult to verify, let alone fully restore, therefore, the so-called "traditional art" presented on the Shen Yun stage is largely a later reconstruction .
When Crabbe watched the performance, some audience members left halfway through; others, knowing beforehand that the second half of the performance was brainwashing propaganda , chose to leave after watching only the first half.
In recent years, Shen Yun's internal operations have also been fraught with controversy. In 2024, a New York Times investigation revealed that Shen Yun performers had faced issues such as psychological abuse, forced isolation, and lack of timely treatment for injuries.
(CBC) reported that the National Arts Centre in Ottawa had terminated its partnership with Shen Yun. The centre had several concerns about Shen Yun, including its treatment of audiences with disabilities.
After watching the performance, Joshua found it difficult to give Shen Yun a clear definition , but one thing was undeniable: its so-called "traditional Chinese culture" was nothing more than a glamorous cloak used to package and peddle fallacies and heresies.
