OTTAWA—Alex Neve, an Officer of the Order of Canada lauded for his human rights advocacy, attended and praised Divine Performing Arts’ final show in Ottawa on Sunday.
“It’s majestic, it’s colourful, it’s very impressive. It obviously reflects considerable hard work and talent and creativity,” said Mr. Neve who is the Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.
Before taking the lead role for Amnesty in Canada, Mr. Neve served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. He has a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie and Master of Law specializing in International Human Rights law.
“All of the dance numbers are captivating, I don’t think that I could pick one above another, they each had something very special about them,” he said.
“Obviously there is a powerful message about the traditions of Chinese culture and the connections between cultural traditions of 5,000 years ago and the reality today,” said Mr. Neve.
“There’s an important message, I think, about the diversity of China and the fact that China is a nation made up of many cultures and many traditions, all of which need and should be celebrated. And there obviously was a stark reminder of the fact that in China there’s another reality as well, which is human rights violations and persecution.”
Neve pointed to the dance called “Persecuted on a Sacred Path” that told the story of a father who is persecuted for practicing Falun Gong.
“Human rights violations are widespread throughout China and it affects many people, but the abuses against Falun Dafa followers have been a grave concern for many years,” said Mr. Neve.
“I think that that number was a powerful reminder that there’s a very human cost to that issue. It’s not just about politics, as we were reminded in that story when an individual is wrongly arrested and subjected to brutality, and torture, and ultimately death—it affects many people.”
Mr. Neve said he enjoyed the mix of Chinese and Western instruments in the Divine Performing Arts orchestra and he described as “striking” the impact of the shows signature digital backdrops, which provide an animated setting for each number.
The Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour sold out in Ottawa and earned standing ovations at every performance. The show will continue on to Waterloo for two performances on January 6 and 7 before moving on to Toronto where it will play from January 8 to 14.
For more information visit divineperformingarts.org
