the essential
The Zénith de Toulouse hosts the Chinese dance show “Shen Yun” from Friday January 10 to Monday January 13, with five sold-out performances. A spectacle repressed in China, which is a hit everywhere in France. We’ll explain it to you.
If you watch videos on YouTube, you must have recently come across an advertisement for the show “Shen Yun”. It’s difficult to miss this great show, a major musical comedy which immerses spectators in the world of ancient China with classical and ethnic Chinese dances, flamboyant sets and costumes, currently on tour throughout France. In Toulouse, the five performances scheduled this weekend – Friday, two Saturdays, Sunday and Monday – are sold out. Seven dates are already scheduled in April 2026, and places are already on sale.
What is it about? This blockbuster is produced by Shen Yun Performing Arts, a Chinese classical music and dance company founded in 2006 in New York by Falun Gong practitioners. It is a spiritual movement, combining elements of Buddhism, Taoism and qigong practices, which emerged in China in the early 1990s. Initially tolerated, Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in 1999 , which considers him a threat due to his growing popularity and his independence from the State, as indicated by our colleagues from Le Monde.
A criticism of the Chinese government
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, presented as inspired by the divine, through dance and music performances. However, these performances often incorporate political messages, openly criticizing the Chinese communist regime and denouncing the persecution of the movement’s practitioners in China. This greatly displeases the government, which exercises censorship on activities linked to Falun Gong and considers the company as a propaganda tool.
No wonder, then, that Shen Yun is banned from performing in mainland China. The company tours internationally, with multiple troupes performing simultaneously in different cities around the world. Shows often accompanied by a major advertising campaign. To discover this weekend at the Zénith in Toulouse, for those who already have their seats. For the others, you will have to wait until spring 2026.
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