NEW YORK - In bringing to life the myths and legends of ancient China, the Divine Performing Arts Chinese New Year Splendor continues to bedazzle audiences at Radio City Music Hall.
"I have been to the show before, so this is my third year here. I loved it, every year it is better and better. It is a fantastic show!" It is all just great, it is just very moving, it really is," said Tom McGrath, a pharmacist from New Jersey.
What makes the show so meaningful to McGrath is not only the aesthetic artistry that is presented but the deeper meaning and what it represents to people in the US.
"As I sit here and watch a lot of the performances and reflect on them, I think, what we sometimes do here as westerners living in the United States, we have our freedoms we sometimes forget what that really means. When you watch shows like this and you see people being persecuted for just reflecting and trying to express their beliefs, and they are persecuted you got to realize how much you really have here and that we really should embrace that."
McGrath was referring to a scene in the show which tells the story of a contemporary tragedy in China: the persecution of Falun Gong, a meditation practice and spiritual discipline currently being brutally suppressed by the Chinese regime.
McGrath said that the message of the show is so important that he is willing to sponsor others who can't afford it.
He felt it was worth to cross the river to see the Splendor but will not rush to see the Super bowl. "Whoever wins or loses it is not going to change my life tomorrow — this was more important."
Beyond the show's aesthetic beauty, it is prompting many audience members to ponder their own values and principles against the backdrop of the world in which we live.
Many of the themes that run through the shows' dance and musical pieces include courage, loyalty, honesty, filial piety, compassion, faith, and search for spiritual truth.
The Chinese New Year Splendor continues in New York through Saturday, Feb. 9. For other shows in the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit:
www.DivinePerformingArts.org . The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese New Year Splendor.
Feeds