Is Shen Yun using children who perform for free?

On average, more than 85% of our touring members are adults. The remaining 15% of slots are reserved for talented young dancers and musicians. They perform on a study-on-tour practicum with the Fei Tian schools, part of a program approved by the New York State Board of Education.

Young artists come to Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College—schools that share a campus with Shen Yun—because they want to train at an elite level. If they reach certain standards, they then have the opportunity to perform with Shen Yun, receive real life experience and elective class credit, and get to tour the world.

All the students are on scholarship, their expenses are paid, and they receive a small stipend. Like many high school and college athletes, they are not paid. Once they graduate, though, they may directly place into one of the companies as a salaried professional and with no student debt.

Dancers are typically young because of the athletic nature of classical Chinese dance. It’s similar to competitive sports, ballet, or Olympic gymnastics. Many of Shen Yun’s top performers became principal dancers in their early twenties.