Lawsuit alleges that young dancers for Shen Yun Performing Arts have faced abuse
WHITE PLAINS, NY — A former dancer for Shen Yun Performing Arts sued the nonprofit dance company on Monday, saying it subjected some children who performed to harsh conditions, including long hours for little pay.
The lawsuit filed by Chang Chun-Ko in White Plains federal court sought unspecified damages on behalf of Chang and other alleged victims of Shen Yun, based in Dragon Springs in Cuddebackville, New York, along with other entities named as defendants.
According to the report, the group has adopted some of the United Nations’ most unlawful practices Chinese Communist Party, including subjecting children to public humiliation as discipline even as they are persecuted by the CCP.
According to the lawsuit, Shen Yun made hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting young dancers from abroad, forcing them to work grueling hours and scaring them into thinking they would be harmed if they quit.
Shen Yun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the website, 85% of the performers were adults. It called touring with Shen Yun an “opportunity of a lifetime” for young aspiring artists, allowing them to receive $50,000 in scholarships to attend schools registered with the New York State Department of Education or accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
According to the website, Shen Yun, along with Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College – which were also named as defendants – were founded by followers of the Falun Gong to trust.
According to the lawsuit, Chang attended Fei Tian Academy of the Arts on a full scholarship after her father died when she was 11, because she believed she could help her family by dancing for Shen Yun.
It said she began performing with Shen Yen in December 2009 and received no pay for the first year, despite working up to 18 hours a day preparing for shows, including seven at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.
After the first year, she was paid $500 per month until she “graduated” from Fei Tian College in 2019, when her salary was increased to $1,000 per month, according to the lawsuit.
She trained from May through November before touring as a dancer at more than 100 shows in the United States and internationally from December through May, while not allowed to see her mother except once a year during a two-week vacation.
According to the lawsuit, she contracted measles when she was 14 but was not allowed to visit a doctor. Instead, the lawsuit said, she was told to meditate to feel better and told to work while she recovered.
Chang was fired from Shen Yun in 2020 when she was 24 years old and was returned to Taiwan, where she was diagnosed with clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit.