EDMONTON—Hon. Lindsay Blackett, Alberta MLA and Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, would recommend the Chinese Spectacular "to everyone."
"Absolutely, because I do that for all different cultural events, but especially for this one. It's something that a lot of people haven't had a chance to see. It's fantastic. I would highly recommend it for anybody."
Blackett attended the unique cultural show at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton on Monday evening. He commented on the scope of the performance.
"It's traditional, the costumes are beautiful, the dance, and I'm just amazed at how many people there are—fifty musicians and fifty actors."
Having seen Chinese shows before, Blackett said the Spectacular is different.
"Well, it's probably more traditional than some of the ones I've seen. And a lot of the ones I've watched before there's a lot of acrobatics in it, and not so much traditional dance. But I've seen shows like this, but not as detailed as this and not in a setting like this."
He said the Spectacular gives a different perspective to Canadians.
"Some of it I've never seen before, and it just gives you an appreciation of something different. There's history. And like I said before, living [in] a place like Alberta where our history is only 100 years old, knowing that this goes back 3000, 5000 years, it's amazing at how you preserve all of that.
"And in spite of everyone, what happens — whether it's a new government or what has happened over the last 30, 40, 50 years — there's still groups that embrace that. And that's the most important part of culture that you can't forget it and you have to pass it from generation to generation to generation. And then share with others."
He recalled the vivid colours in the Mongolian Bowl Dance.
"The dress, that one where they had the pink and the blue. I can't remember which piece, but all the ladies were wearing it. It was a long blue dress and there were pink inserts, and they had the beads coming along their arm and the bowl on the top."
However, the drumming acts, Victory Drums and Drummers of the Tang Court, were his favourite.
"I loved the drums, I loved the drums. I like the sound. It's always so powerful. I remember, when I looked at them I would think, 'that was what war was like, that's the time of battle' all those drums."
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit:
www.BestChineseShows.com.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit:
http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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