Escondido, California — The Chinese dance group Shen Yun, known for its performances in San Diego and Escondido, is facing controversy following allegations of abuse and coercion within the organization.
A former dancer has filed a class-action lawsuit in New York, claiming that Shen Yun has made hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting young dancers and forcing them to work grueling hours.
The lawsuit alleges that the organization dictates dancers' weight, and regularly deprives them of necessary medical care. "The Shen Yun Defendants dictate the Dancers' eating habits and weight, and regularly deprive Dancers from necessary medical care," the lawsuit states. It further claims that "when Dancers are injured due to their grueling rehearsal and performance schedule, they are forced to work through their injuries."
These allegations follow a series of in-depth investigative articles published by The New York Times last year, which reported on alleged abuse and coercion of students at the organization's "Dragon Springs" campus in Deerpark, New York.
Shen Yun, however, denies these claims. In a statement, the organization said, "The allegations present a grossly distorted picture of our organization... Shen Yun is committed to fairness, accountability, and compliance with all applicable laws." The statement also noted that their dancers train on full education scholarships.
Current dancers have come to the defense of the organization through social media posts and interviews. One dancer stated, "The Shen Yun that I go to is warm and supportive and positive." Another, who has been with Shen Yun for over a decade, said, "I never felt coercion, I would say I felt guidance."
Shen Yun has shows scheduled for March at the Escondido Performing Arts Center and in April at the San Diego Civic Theater. Both venues confirmed that Shen Yun rents space to perform shows at their facilities.
"Civic Theatre is a public venue. If Shen Yun complies with our licensing agreement and other facility guidelines, which all groups renting the Civic Theatre are required to follow, we would not restrict their use of the facility," said a spokesperson for San Diego Theaters.
A spokesperson for Escondido Arts wrote, "Shen Yun is not now nor has ever been presented by the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, rather they rent space to present their show at our facility. Under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, we are required by law to give full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services in all business establishments as a non profit organization that has a business purpose or is a public accommodation."
The dance group, trained and educated in upstate New York, is associated with Falun Gong, an expatriate Chinese group that denounces the Chinese Communist Party.
Below is the full statement of Shen Yun emailed to CBS 8 by an attorney representing the group:
"For nearly two decades, Shen Yun has been dedicated to sharing traditional Chinese culture and inspiring audiences worldwide with our performances. We operate with integrity and are committed to upholding the highest artistic and ethical standards. The allegations present a grossly distorted picture of our organization, our mission, and our faith. Shen Yun is committed to fairness, accountability, and compliance with all applicable laws. As followers of the Falun Gong faith, our commitment to integrity extends to every area of our lives. From our marriages to our outreach performances to the education of our children, our faith teaches us to respect one another, to be genuine, and to work for excellence. Our Shen Yun dancers are elite performers who choose to make the high degree of physical and mental commitment that many elite dancers around the world make, but ours add to that the spiritual commitment to share the great cultural and religious traditions of China through dance. Shen Yun has both salaried, professional dancers and student dancers who perform with Shen Yun as part of programs approved by the New York State Education Department. Shen Yun strives to provide well for all of its performers. All of the students who perform with Shen Yun receive full scholarships so that they can graduate debt-free. Most of the student performers live in campus residences on the Dragon Springs grounds, while a vast majority of our professional Shen Yun performers choose to live outside of Dragon Springs and commute to work. Shen Yun also covers both student and professional performers’ travel expenses, including hotels, transportation costs, and food while traveling—something that is not the case with many touring companies. Finally, we are very proud of the Fei Tian schools! Fei Tian Academy of the Arts is a fully registered K-12 school with a boarding provision for grades 6-12 that provides its students both a modern education in all of the academic subjects that will prepare them for college but also in traditional Chinese beliefs and values. Fei Tian follows best practices for boarding schools, including holding onto the students’ passports for safekeeping when the passports are not in use, but we always return the passports when requested. Fei Tian’s education works, and its students excel on the SAT with over 95% participation and scores that consistently exceed state and national averages. Likewise, Fei Tian College is an exceptional college that has a focus on degrees in classical Chinese dance and prepares students for their lives ahead, whether they want to become professional Shen Yun dancers, start their own dance studios, or go into entirely different fields. Unfortunately, because Falun Gong is preserving the traditional Chinese values and religious beliefs that the Chinese Communist Party has spent decades attempting to eradicate and is now attacking with renewed vigor, we are constantly harassed. The Chinese Communist Party spreads disinformation about Falun Gong adherents wherever it can. Shen Yun also receives multiple threats every month of bombings, mass shootings, and threats to rape and kill our female performers. We must take all of these threats and attacks seriously, and they reinforce our conviction that the message of compassion, honesty, and forbearance taught by Falun Gong is as important today as it was when we started nearly two decades ago."
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