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179: Behind the Beauty [Big Believer pt.2]

Writer: Maia Warner-Langenbahn
Maia Warner-Langenbahn
4 days ago
2 min read

Come experience thousands of years of Chinese excellence… crafted in the 1990s… in the United States. We’ve seen their advertisements. Some have even gone to their show! But what is the “magic” behind the Shen Yun shows? You guessed it, it's a cult! Maia details Falun Gong's rise from China, the threat they posed to the Chinese Communist Party, and the way they have funneled that into… dance? This week we go Behind the Beauty on Well, I Laughed.


Chapters

00:00:00 Catch-Up

00:33:37 Behind the Beauty

00:38:02 Falun Gong

00:57:53 What do they Believe?

01:16:49 But how is it a cult?

01:35:13 Shen Yun

01:52:42 But How's THIS a Cult?

01:57:41 Consequences Come Knocking

02:05:46 And there's more



Photos References

Shen Yun dance troupe promoting China before communism on a billboard advertising their upcoming performance in Leavenworth, Kansas - Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Shen Yun dance troupe promoting China before communism on a billboard advertising their upcoming performance in Leavenworth, Kansas - Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Reddit meme featuring a Shen Yun billboard
Reddit meme featuring a Shen Yun billboard
"Dragon Springs" the 400 acre compound in upstate New York where Shen Yun lives and trains - courtesy of the New York Times
"Dragon Springs" the 400 acre compound in upstate New York where Shen Yun lives and trains - courtesy of the New York Times
Cheng Qingling (left) and Sun Zan (right), former performers of Shen Yun who are now suing the organization for the abuse they suffered - courtesy of the New York Times
Cheng Qingling (left) and Sun Zan (right), former performers of Shen Yun who are now suing the organization for the abuse they suffered - courtesy of the New York Times
Chang Chun-Ko, a former Shen Yun dancer who is suing the organization for the abuse she suffered - courtesy of the New York Times
Chang Chun-Ko, a former Shen Yun dancer who is suing the organization for the abuse she suffered - courtesy of the New York Times

Sources


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