NEW YORK—The International Chinese Classical Dance Competition at the New York University Skirball Arts Performing Centre ended on July 8 as scheduled. Many viewers said that they enjoyed the performances and were happy the Chinese communist regime's attempt to block the competition did not succeed.
John, a university student studying commerce in New York, watched the second round of the competition with his mother, who is visiting him from Thailand. They both enjoyed the performances. John said that every artist had done his or her best, and the competition showed very good spirit. John had heard that the Chinese regime had attempted to stop the competition. He commented,: "This is a terrible deed. This is America; maybe their way is possible in mainland China, but definitely not here. What the communists did had the opposite effect, drawing more attention to the competition."
Richard is a local Chinese resident. He was very excited after watching the competition. He said the competition is a very good way to promote Chinese Classical Dance on the world stage, to let Western audiences and Western media understand this form of Chinese art and culture. As to what the communist regime did, Richard said, "This competition promotes Chinese culture, what the Chinese people are proud of. For the communist regime to actually want to damage this kind of opportunity is shameful!"
Journalist Ross Lahive said this was his first time watching Chinese dance. He could see the strength and inner dignity in the actor's performance; he found it to be very creative. Regarding the communist interference, Ross said, "No matter what NTDTV does, the communists will interfere regardless of how good the thing is, because NTDTV is the only TV station that dares to criticize communist China."
New York resident Mr. Xu told the Epoch Times, "The competition was very good. I am very moved; every actor has shown their own strength. It brings back ancient Chinese culture. Without this competition, we almost forget our culture."
Another audience member, Mr. Zhang, watched the competition with his family of four. Zhang praised the competition from a unique angle. He said: "I have attended other performances hosted by the Chinese consulate. Those shows were very noisy and chaotic, but the audience at the Dance Competition was very quiet. They were very absorbed in watching the competition. They come here in pursuit of art."
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