"The human body is the most perfect in the universe. It is the most perfect form. The aliens want the human body." -Li Hongzhi, 1999

Nothing seems to match the viral marketing achieved by the Chinese dance troupe Shen Yun. But behind those billboards, what sort of performance is actually happening? And should we trust the artists just because they were kicked out of China in the 90s? In this video essay by Zach Barr (they/them), the secrets of Shen Yun's performance are revealed, as well as the history of how they, and their parent organization Falun Gong, came to be. And folks, it's so much weirder than you think it will be.

Music in this video is courtesy of John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions, and is used under a Creative Commons BY-NC license.

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pogp70LbJTRQ1P5bB5TLya_2dh9fmBcfC76dfSWcPP0/edit?usp=sharing
"And Now, They Sing" playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4vfdXUW5yrUATqDIsz1d5C8wDdewZflz

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