Ottawa's National Arts Centre cuts ties with controversial Chinese dance group

The National Arts Centre in Ottawa will not be hosting a controversial Chinese performance group next year, following internal deliberations about potential blowback the Crown corporation could face over allegations regarding Shen Yun's treatment of audience members with disabilities and a breach of previous contract terms, CBC News has learned.

Emails released in an access to information request show the NAC was considering the move for months — during which time the centre heard from at least two MPs wondering about whether there would be a Shen Yun show in 2026.

Based in New York, Shen Yun is closely affiliated with the Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa), a spiritual movement banned in China and long at odds with the country's ruling communist regime.

In an email dated Jan. 13, Heather Gibson, the executive producer for the NAC's popular music and variety programming, reached out to the centre's CEO Christopher Deacon, as well as to Annabelle Cloutier, an executive director in strategy and communications, to "recommend that we do not continue our relationship with Shen Yun in 2026 in light of continued issues with their organization respecting our contractual agreement, primarily with the box office."

She also alluded to "allegations that continue to surface about the organization," without specifying details.

That note followed reporting last year by The New York Times which alleged Shen Yun forced its troupe of young dancers through emotional abuse and long work hours while discouraging them from seeking treatment for injuries. The New York Times investigation also alleges Shen Yun raked in hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade, including through unethical and potentially unlawful methods.

In a reply to Gibson, Deacon said he saw Shen Yun's future with the NAC as a "programming decision" to be made at her discretion.

"I appreciate and respect that, but it's not going to be (only) me who is dealing with the potential issues this may cause in media, phone-calling campaigns, meeting requests to your office, etc.," Gibson wrote in response.

"In the past when we have moved forward with this, the CEO eventually overrode our decision. Which I also respect, but it has made it difficult to conceive of this as a programming decision alone."

Deacon replied that he supports Gibson's decision.

In February, Liberal MP Judy Sgro wrote to an NAC producer saying she had been contacted by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada and requested a "thorough explanation as to why [Shen Yun] would not be able to secure dates."

A month later, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis wrote to Deacon over his "concern regarding the prolonged delay in the scheduling of Shen Yun's 2026 performance dates."

Genuis noted the Falun Dafa community has had a nearly two-decade-long run with the NAC as a presenter of their show.

"Recent efforts by the CCP [Communist Party of China] to transnationally repress and discredit the Shen Yun performances and undermine the efficacy of Falun Gong practitioners in their attempts to share the story of a pre-communist China in these rich performances are extremely concerning," he wrote.

"The importance of preserving their artistic freedoms here in Canada is all the greater given the severe lack of protections that their group experiences in China."

Shen Yun last performed at the NAC in late April. On April 28, Gibson asked colleagues in an email about whether Shen Yun should return in 2026.

"I have received some unsettling information informally," she said. "Could someone please send through formal comments about the run of shows that we did with this client please?"

A supervisor at the centre, Myriam Lamontagne, replied that she had worked on the troupe's 2024 shows. She said Shen Yun "installed their own box office booth" at the centre, which she said was a breach of contract.

"When I told them that it was unacceptable and against the contract, and I asked them to close the box office booth, the situation escalated, they questioned my legitimacy and they treated me as if I had no say to what they were doing within the NAC," she wrote.

She also said Shen Yun were "taking pictures of individual patrons during the shows, without their knowledge," and refused to stop when she asked them.

Lamontagne also cited another colleague who worked on this year's shows. She said "a Shen Yun manager asked to remove and refund a patron with disabilities from Southam Hall, during the performance, as they were making sounds due to their disability."

She said NAC staff told her they were uncomfortable working with the group.

On April 30, in another email on the same chain, a senior manager at the NAC, Robyn Gilchrist, wrote about how she and others had discussed "specific instances" of "guests with disabilities" being asked to leave the hall during Shen Yun's last visit.

"These actions expose us to potential human rights complaints," she wrote.

"If any of these guests decide to file an official complaint, we would be unable to defend our position. This could result in front-page news and create a lasting public record that portrays the NAC as unkind to individuals with disabilities."

A local Shen Yun organizer told CBC News that these incidents amounted to a misunderstanding.

In a statement, the National Arts Centre confirmed to CBC News that Shen Yun "has no dates booked for performances at the NAC in 2026." It added "venue and rental contracts remain confidential."

The NAC also confirmed the content of the emails reviewed by CBC News, but added "the availability of our halls for rentals depends on our own artistic programming which we prioritize over rentals."

A local organizer for the Shen Yun show says she was "mystified" by the NAC's decision.

Grace Wollensak, a national co-ordinator for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, said the NAC sent the group their decision in writing on June 28, but did not mention any specific reason. She said the centre's CEO told them last week that it was due to rental availability.

"We had a pretty great, friendly meeting," Wollensak said. "He even suggested we continue with a follow-up meeting."

She said it was the NAC who had removed some patrons with disabilities. Wollensak said she had told the centre it was on heightened awareness for potential disruptions from agents of the Chinese government. She said there had been "dozens" of threats against recent Shen Yun performances.

Wollensak said the NAC removed three attendees in wheelchairs for making disruptive noises, and she ensured they were refunded before they left.

"We want to emphasize that we have no intention of excluding individuals with disabilities," Wollensak said.

"In fact, for the past 18 years, wheelchair-accessible seating has been available for every Shen Yun performance."

Wollensak also said that in 2024, the group stopped selling tickets at its information desk when it was asked to do so. Wollensak said Shen Yun had previously sold tickets at the NAC, and hadn't been told this was a breach of contract.

"We like to comply and follow the rules," Wollensak said. "There's no reason not to do so."

The association said the show not taking place next year would be a win for the Chinese government.

Emails sent by the Chinese Embassy to the NAC over the last two years show diplomats seeking to invite NAC representatives to embassy events — including Deacon and Nelson McDougall, managing director of the orchestra, to a reception in September 2023.

It is unclear if either of them attended. However, in July 2024, after receiving another invitation, Deacon told staff that he had received advice that he should meet the Chinese ambassador, and that McDougall "should join the meeting."

A note on the Chinese Embassy's website in August 2024 said the ambassador paid a visit to Deacon.

In its statement to CBC News, the NAC said its "artistic programming and venue rentals decisions are made independently and without external influence."

Its decision comes after Montreal's Place des Arts also said it will not book any dates for Shen Yun next year. According to Shen Yun's website, the only Canadian city where it has performances scheduled in 2026 is Vancouver.

One vocal critic of the NAC's decision, human rights lawyer David Matas, provided CBC News a copy of a letter he sent to the centre, urging it to reverse its move.

"I ask that the NAC grant its stage to these performers, and not lend itself to become a paving stone in the campaign of transnational repression waged by the CCP regime," Matas, who represented groups that spoke out against Chinese state repression during the public inquiry into foreign interference, wrote.

"This would be contrary to the Canadian values of human rights and diversity, as well as the mandate of your arts centre to present and showcase the best of cultures."

Matas said The New York Times was making itself a vehicle of the Communist Party of China's transnational repression against Falun Gong, a charge also levied by the movement itself and Shen Yun since the release of the paper's stories last year.