TAINAN—Once the capital of Taiwan, the prefectural city Tainan naturally welcomed the Divine Performing Arts company, as a breath of familiar culture. The Divine Performing Arts shows once again sparked a yearning for Chinese culture among the people.
The first show in Tainan, February 29, was a full house. The audiences gave thunderous applause, especially after the dramatic "Power of Awareness", which depicts scenes of righteousness standing up against violence and tyranny. Everyone also cheered Hong Ming for his singing.
This is the second time the Divine Performing Arts company has visited Taiwan—on both occasions hosted by the Tainan government and New Tang Dynasty Television. The mayor of Tainan said, "We always look forward to working with such fine shows, which are valuable for both culture and the public."
Mayor of Tainan, Hsu Tain-tsair, and his wife arrived at the Tainan Cultural Center to enjoy the Divine Performing Arts premier. He praised it highly, exclaiming "So splendid! So touching!" and felt that the performance had expressed the preciousness of Chinese culture with traditional dance. He said the fact that it was able to perform at such a world class venue as New York's Broadway was just too impressive. He acclaimed the light of the Chinese people and culture shining across the world.
Director of Tainan's City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau, Hus Keng-hsiu, who has decades of experience working in a cultural centre, said that he has seen numerous shows, but that this was the first time he saw such a meticulous exhibition of Chinese traditional culture on stage.
The head of Tainan's e-Dancing Institute, Chen Baoyu, said, "The program 'Drummers of the Tang Court' enraptured me. The performers not only beat the drums with a strong, positive rhythm, but the strength of their beat is coordinated just right also. This is very hard to learn, and the movement is so uniform, the dancers' eyes so steady—it makes people feel very content."
He said the dancers were "graceful", and took note of the technical details involved in the production. "The solid training matched with the huge skylight hardware, so luxurious, delicate and moving—such as 'Lady of the moon'—all the movements, music, animations are coordinated so well. The movement and music of shooting the moon is just too precise! It makes the entire program even more brilliant." "I think this isn't easy at all, not only the performers have to work hard, the effort of behind the scene workers is also painstaking."
Tainan Municipal Hospital chairman Lein Ray Mo and tens of hospital doctors, nurses and staff members came to the show. Mo indicated afterwards that the programs were arranged very well, and even though Chinese culture is broad and profound, in two short hours the show exhibits the key points very well.
The president of Southern Taiwan University Chen Hongzhu indicated after the show that the glamorous "Nymphs of the Sea" startled him. He said that the softness of the water was wonderful, and that the female dancers' tenderness and softness were beautiful. He also said "bravo!" to the creative backdrop. "Through dancing, music and lighting, Divine Performing Arts displayed Chinese culture through stories of loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and justice. Merging this with modern technology is very creative, just great."
Chen also said that the combined Eastern and Western musical elements complimented each other very well, "this has achieved the expressiveness and flavor of the entire art form."
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
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