SAN FRANCISCO—With its series of lavish shows at the historic San Francisco Orpheum Theatre, the Chinese New Year Spectacular continued to draw the attention and admiration of theatergoers.
"I loved the performance with the women who were dancing with cups on their heads," said Erica Rosenberg who attended the show for the first time. "I thought that it was really amazing," exclaimed Rosenberg referring to the "Mongolian Bowl Dance" depicting a traditional Mongolian feast when hosts and guests alike dance with bowls atop their heads.
Performed by Divine Performing Arts, the show has spearheaded the renaissance of traditional Chinese culture, according to its organizers. Themes that run through many of the Spectacular's dance and musical vignettes include common virtues such as courage, honesty, compassion, and the search for spiritual truth.
"The show was fabulous, the vocalists were wonderful, and the costumes were extraordinary," said Irene Moralo. What I liked the most was "the flower that welcomes spring."
Some of the dances depict more contemporary issues such as China's oppression of the Falun Gong spiritual practice.
San Francisco actress Kimberly Richards said that she was touched by the performances.
"The most moving one was about the women who were beaten and by the way the crowd reacted to it."
"The message I got was—stop the oppression," said Richards commenting on "The Power of Awareness," a vignette depicting police abuse in China. Rising indignation against injustice unites the onlookers. They stand as one to defend from harm a mother and daughter who practice Falun Gong.
Cindy Burt said that the show was very, very nice and that she will remember the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
"I learned a lot more about the Chinese history. I was intrigued by messages about Falun Gong which I didn't know much about," Burt said.
The Chinese New Year Spectacular is sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), an independent, non-profit Chinese language TV broadcaster established by overseas Chinese.
The Spectacular will play venues in the United States before continuing its global tour through Asia, Europe, and Oceania. 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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