The Divine Performing Arts group was welcomed by fans at Auckland airport on Sunday afternoon ahead of their two shows at The Civic theatre in downtown Auckland this Thursday.
The group have just completed the Australian leg of their global tour where they played to full houses in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.
Audiences can expect to see the very best of traditional Chinese art and culture in the two-and-a-half hour show, which expounds on the richness of a five thousand-year-long culture that was all but lost during the cultural revolution of the 1960's and 70's in China.
"We try to give the audience the best of Chinese traditional culture, the beauty, that's our wish," said Michelle Ren, lead dancer and choreographer for the group.
"It's really, really special. I think that whoever comes to the show, they will feel, no matter who comes, that it was worth it. You will really like it a lot," she said.
Feedback from audiences across Australia was overwhelming, with people from all backgrounds, ethnicities and levels of society expressing their amazement by the performance.
Ms Bev Brock, former wife of Australian racing car driver Peter Brock, said she was very impressed by the show and felt that it took her "into a surreal state". She said that she experienced a feeling of lightness while watching the dancers and described the costumes as "heavenly" and "divine". "Everybody has an internal expression and that's what the dance is doing—living that expression," she said.
Lyn Allison, Australian Senator and leader of the Australian Democrats enjoyed not only the costumes and dances but also said: "The scene with the Falun Gong and the Chinese police was very moving." She added: "I thought perhaps the scene to do with Tibet was one of the most beautiful, with very, very lovely costumes and beautiful dance. So that was gorgeous. Beautiful costumes, lovely dancing, very attractive people and nice singing—It's very Chinese, certainly. Not the sort of thing we see in Australia very often. So that's what makes it special."
The Divine Performing Arts group will appear in two shows on one day only, this Thursday April 5, 2007 at The Civic theatre in downtown Auckland at 2pm and 7.30pm before heading to Korea and Taiwan.
With additional reporting by Epoch Times Australia Staff
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