Audience praise for the Divine Performing Arts dance company's Chinese New Year Spectacular continued after its last Toronto performance at Sony Centre on Sunday evening.
"It's just amazing how they glide across the floor," said Elizabeth Carson, a computer contractor in Toronto.
"I go to the ballet. So I see some similar movements. But just the way of walking of movement, the crossing of the legs, the arms and the hands . . . It's more alive, more light, ethereal."
Carson said she didn't know anything about Chinese culture before and that she experienced it the first time through the Spectacular .
"I've just been enjoying that, and the different movements of their dance, and the colours of their costumes.
"My husband saw the ads on the TV and said it would be the colour, the pageantry of it, and he wanted to come."
Carson said her favourite dance was the Mongolian bowl dance, in which dancers whirl around the stage with delicate bowls balanced on their heads.
"You're waiting to see if they're glued on, and then you discover they're not."
Medical doctor Blake Gibb of Oshawa said it was his first time to a Chinese cultural show.
"I think it's gorgeous, and wonderful flow, and nice music. The colours are great," he said.
Gibb heard about the Spectacular through a brochure. "It looked quite artistic and I have a few Chinese friends," he said, explaining his reasons for coming.
"I liked them all," he said of the shows many dances. "I have to say I really enjoyed the drummers...The dancing is wonderful."
Gibb noted that the dancing is different from North American ballet but that he could see ballet elements within it.
Andrew Flaman of Hamilton said he liked the colours and varied movements in the show, as well as its reminders of "the good things in life."
The young man said he was most moved by a dance depicting two young hoodlums that made a change for the better.
"I like the transformation of the last scene. And I like the important aspects of good nature with the youth."
According to the Spectacular's organizers, the show is built on rediscovering traditional Chinese culture which emphasizes high moral principles. Performances include dance, blended Chinese and Western orchestral music, singing, theatre and an innovative digital back drop.
The Spectacular will play venues the United States before continuing its global tour through Asia, Europe and Oceania. It will return to Canada next spring for performances in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.
In total it will stage 220 shows in over 60 cities and 14 countries, reaching a total live audience of about 650,000.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.
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