NEW YORK CITY—When Levi Browde first heard about the bomb threats targeting a theater in Taiwan, worries whirled in his head.
His two sons were scheduled to perform there with Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Based in upstate New York, Shen Yun has performed for millions of audience members around the world over the past two decades, showcasing traditional Chinese culture under the banner “China before communism.”
But since 2024, the company has braved escalating threats of bombings and other violence against its host venues across the world. These are just some of the clandestine efforts linked to the Chinese regime—ranging from media disinformation to paid protests to tire slashings—that are aimed at shutting down the company’s performances.
And the Browde family has seen it firsthand.
Their story is a central part of the documentary “Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun,” produced by NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times.
The film premiered at the AMC Lincoln Square in Manhattan on the evening of March 24 to a full house.
The Browde brothers Jesse (R) and Lucas (L) in "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at its world premiere at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
The film crew did not know how far it would go with the project at the beginning. It started off with a special report, and evolved over time as more findings came to light, said executive producer Steve Lance.
As the team asked questions, followed the performers to different venues, and watched them train, the work took on a life of its own, he said.
On the one side, there has been a “very sophisticated, all-encompassing, full-spectrum influence campaign coming out of China, all to target this group,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Yet, here they are, 20 years later, unbroken,“ he said. ”That was sort of the conclusion that we came to.”
Lance recalled watching the performers set up the stage on the day of their performance at Lincoln Center in 2025. They were doing a warm-up routine.
“Next thing you know, all 10 or 12 dancers on stage in unison, their legs go straight up over their heads, and they hold them there,” he said. The level of focus and the passion he saw in their eyes, he said, made him see how this group is different.
“These aren’t people who are trying to make a name for themselves.”
New York City Council member Phil Wong (2nd L) and constituent services liaison Bernard Chow (2nd R) present a proclamation for Shen Yun Performing Arts alongside Shen Yun principal dancers Piotr Huang (L) and Angelia Wang (R) at the worldwide premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
At the premiere, New York City Council member Phil Wong brought two proclamations, one from him and another from his predecessor Robert Holden, who did not get to present it during his term. It is a double celebration for the art company’s 20th anniversary, he and his staffer said.
“They love what they do,” Wong said of Shen Yun, noting that the group has “done so much” to preserve an art form almost lost.
“The choreography is just perfect.”
At the red carpet, Shen Yun dancers showcased a rainbow of colorful handmade gowns that drew inspiration from ancient dynasties. Performers who spoke to The Epoch Times said they hoped to show the audience another side of Shen Yun not often seen.
Shen Yun dancers attend the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at AMC Theater at Lincoln Square in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
‘Battle in Our Backyard’
The Browde family likened their experience to being on the front lines of a battle.
“We all feel the pressure,” Browde told The Epoch Times.
The battle did not start in the United States. It began when the Chinese Communist Party launched a nationwide persecution against practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
The campaign was systematic, combining hate propaganda, financial pressure, mass arrests, and torture in an all-out effort to crush the practice. Untold numbers of practitioners have been killed, including through forced organ harvesting to fuel the regime’s lucrative transplantation industry.
A panel discussion after the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
From around the world, a group of artists came together in 2006 with the hope of shining a spotlight on the Chinese regime’s human rights abuses and reviving China’s cultural heritage, creating what became known as Shen Yun.
From the company’s inception, the regime has been determined to put it down, using diplomatic and financial levers in attempts to pressure hosting countries and theaters—sometimes successfully. However, over the past few years, Beijing’s efforts have escalated further.
In late 2022, Chinese leader Xi Jinping instructed senior officials to weaponize Western media organizations, as well as social media, to attack Falun Gong and companies started by practitioners globally, The Epoch Times previously reported based on accounts from those with knowledge of the secret meeting.
(L–R) Violist Rachel Chen, Shen Yun principal dancer Angela Lin, and former Shen Yun dancer Alison Chen attend the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Since then, a federal case by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed a bribery plot in which two Chinese agents tried to pay an IRS official to open an investigation against Shen Yun. That IRS official turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen stories attacking Shen Yun and Falun Gong began appearing in The New York Times.
Browde, whose family has read The New York Times since the Eisenhower days, said he almost felt “betrayed” when he saw those stories.
“It is by far the best example in my own life of the failure of the Times to cover news properly,” he said.
Audience members are interviewed at the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at the AMC Lincoln Square movie theater in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
For more than two decades, Browde has run the Falun Dafa Information Center, which draws attention to the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China. He said Beijing’s campaign has continually ratcheted up the pressure on him, becoming increasingly personal.
“It’s sort of like there’s two theaters to this war,” he said.
Raising awareness about persecution in a far-off land is hard enough, he said, “but now we have to deal with the campaign that’s here in America trying to silence us, intimidate us, and, perhaps most importantly, convince other people they shouldn’t listen to us.”
It feels much more like “a battle in our backyard,” he said.
TV producer Maria Cavenaghi attends the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at the AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
‘Fighting the Good Fight’
Many among the audience on March 24 professed shock after walking out from the screening.
“Shen Yun is a portrait of an ancient society that has been dismantled and broken down by a regime that didn’t believe in freedom,” TV producer Maria Cavenaghi told The Epoch Times. “The first thing that the dictator does is to silence culture, to silence the voices of people.”
Actress and model Kimberly Magness described the documentary as “surreal.”
“The bomb threats, the tire slashing, the fact that there were all these attacks and Chinese spies—like I had no idea about any of this,” she told The Epoch Times. She said her favorite moment from the film was when one of the dancers said that the mind can be what holds one back, which she relates to as a performer, she said.
“The fact that they persevered through all of this, and they still perform, and they still make this magic happen, it says so much,” she said.
Actress Kimberly Magness attends the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
She said she hopes to meet the artists to show support. “They are such strong people, inside and out,” she said.
Actor Thomas Copeland, also based in New York City, likewise expressed admiration for the performers’ drive. He encouraged the artists to “keep fighting the good fight.”
“Everybody deserves freedom,” he said.
Actor and producer Thomas M. Copeland attends the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
The effects of Beijing’s campaign have rippled worldwide. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was recently evacuated from his official residence after local Shen Yun presenters received a Chinese-language email stating that his personal safety would be at risk if the show went on.
Difficult as it may be, the artists and their families said they are forging ahead.
“We’re giving a voice to ... peoples of belief in China who have no voice,” Browde’s elder son, Jesse Browde, told NTD ahead of the event.
It is “much bigger than myself,” he said.
Shen Yun dancers attend the world premiere of "Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun" at AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on March 24, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
