The Conservatorium Theatre in South Brisbane the state's cultural centre for performing arts and home of Queensland's largest art galleries was the setting of Saturday's Australian premier of NTDTV's 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular.
The cultural diversity was reflected by the audience at the Conservatorium Theatre as they waited in great anticipation for the curtain call to experience the splendour of the myths, legends and richness of ancient China's 5000-year-old history. By all accounts they were enthralled by what they experienced.
Farial Sakal, who is of Russian decent, came to Australia from China when she was only four. She described her emotional journey through the performance. "It's a very, very good feeling. It's a good emotion. You feel that you are at home Definitely, definitely, tears were there."
Brisbane is Australia's third largest city, with an estimated population of around 1.8 million people. Brisbane's population is culturally diverse, with over 26 per cent of its population having been born overseas.
Puula Miettinen, originally from Finland, said that she "loved the show", commending the opening scene titled "The Creation". During intermission, she explained that she was particularly touched while listening to the erhu (also known as the Chinese violin) because she had been in China. Watching the performance she could visualise the mountains and forests. She continued to tell us that she nearly wanted to cry and that she had a tissue for the second half of the performance just in case.
Brisbane is home to around 60,000 Chinese. Like most Australian capital cities, Brisbane has a flourishing China Town in Fortitude Valley, north-east of the city, affectionately referred to as The Valley. This is where many of the local Chinese community can be found trading their wares, shopping and socialising among the many diverse visitors to the area.
Mrs Lee, who has lived in Australia for more than 20 years, said: "The show was very nice, very graceful and I love the erhu (Chinese violin). The dances are based on the 5000 year's Tang Dance. If there are different shows in other states, I will invite my friends."
The show, organised by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), is said to be a revival of ancient Chinese culture through performing arts and will be continuing their tour in the Gold Coast, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.
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