From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams. This is the Daily.

A few days ago, one of the most ubiquitous live shows in the country, Shen Yun, began its latest run at arguably its most prestigious venue, Lincoln Center.

It's drawn thousands of people to a performance that is colorful, acrobatic,

and, according to many of its performers, shockingly abusive.

Today, my colleague Nicole Hong on what a Times investigation has found

about this secretive and sprawling enterprise.

It's Wednesday, April 2nd.

Nicole, I have seen billboards for Shen Yun literally all over New York City.

They are pastel colored.

They show people dancing.

They're wearing this sort of long, flowy, diaphanous clothing.

But I will admit this, I don't think I've ever actually bothered to look into what these billboards were actually advertising.

And now you've done this big

investigation into Shen Yun, which I'm really excited to talk about. We're going to get to in a

minute. But first, can you just tell us what exactly is Shen Yun? So on the surface, Shen Yun is this

performing arts group. They tour around the world.

They perform traditional Chinese dance, accompanied with a full orchestra.

And most people know them because of their advertising.

Every once in a while, something comes along.

So masterful, it leaves you in awe.

Their billboards are everywhere.

So inspiring.

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