ST. LOUIS—“Oh, I loved it! It was wonderful! Wonderful color, choreography, very airy, fresh spirit. … And the music was great!” Ms. Henderson enthusiastically commented about Divine Performing Arts (DPA) performance.
“And the singers!“ Ms. Henderson said. ”Even without understanding the words, there was a connection.” Ms. Henderson, an Operations Analyst for Reuters News Service, had joined a highly appreciative audience at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis, to catch Friday’s opening night of the Chinese New Year Spectacular.
“It is highly spiritual. The feeling was beyond words! Particularly the singing,” she continued. The world’s premier Chinese dance and music company, DPA, brings together singers, dancers, and musicians from around the world, breaking new ground by focusing on the authentic, cultural heritage of classical China.
Her companion, Ms. Mickles, who works for AARP, added, “I like the words, it was spiritual because, to me, I sing in a choir, and I can understand when they were singing and the words that came across the screen. It was more spiritual to me, it was as if I were singing the words also.”
Ms. Henderson felt that she and Ms. Mickles may have shared the same experience that bordered on the spiritual. “Then maybe we are saying the same thing. If I hadn’t been able to read the words, I would have still felt it, that’s what I find. So I just got it, naturally. It gave me shivers. The first couple of singers were just ...
“With God!” Ms. Mickles interrupted to help her friend clarify the thought. “With God.” Ms. Henderson immediately agreed. “A higher power, you call it Dafa? It’s God as far as I’m concerned,” she chuckled.
Ms. Henderson went on to add that one of the things that she appreciated about seeing authentic, classical Chinese culture as presented by DPA was “To learn about the Chinese culture, and I thought initially that [DPA came] from China, but some of the performances made me think ‘hmm.’ They couldn’t have come from China be so outspoken and then go back.”
Ms. Henderson enjoyed the cultural ramifications. “One of the things I got from it was the way that [DPA has] sustained an understanding of the culture and the way [it’s] sharing it with others,” she said. “That’s one of the things I really like about America also, the U.S., the United States of America, is that we have so many people from different parts of the world that have come together and share their cultures with each other. In spite of sort of melding into one, we can still be distinct.”
“Wonderful, wonderful music! Beautiful floral scenery, very serene and that was great!” she concluded.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts. Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
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