PASADENA, Calif.—Ms. Walker was in the audience of the of The Divine Performing Arts’ (DPA) final performance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Sunday, Jan. 4.
Ms. Walker, an artist, creative designer, photographer, and former professional dancer, was enthralled by what she saw and said, “I thought it was exquisite. It was very beautifully produced. Wonderful to see different numbers that represent [and] reflect different areas of culture from [Chinese] arts. … The costumes and colors were just exquisite. It ... was spiritually uplifting—it was really great to see something like this [the spirituality] in the production ...
“As an artist, we are always inspired, but I really appreciated the beauty, the exquisite beauty of those costumes. … As a story, as a whole, I think that it conveys a very wonderful message and we need more of this in our world. To be able to appreciate one another through the cultural arts.
“When you see this beautiful free-flowing, these various numbers come across the stage, it is exhilarating, but I don’t think people … realize the work and the intensity and the time it takes to produce something like this. … I was blown away by that.”
“For me, being an artist in my own right, I just think this is a wonderful way to share the arts through cultures. And it is also very spiritually uplifting; I believe that’s the way the world should be.
“But as it worked as a whole production, I thought it was very interesting to incorporate the singing and the fun, spontaneity between the host and the hostess, because there’s some people that … are introduced to this for the first time and don’t have any background, so I think it was all needed. … It all worked beautifully as a production.”
Ms. Walker felt that this performance can engender peace and harmony through cultural respect and a meeting of minds. She shared, “If the world only worked in a synchronized exquisite manner as you see with the dancers and their sequence of choreographed dance, the world might be a better place. I think we all need to have a meeting of the minds, and it’s interesting to see how beautifully this falls into place where there is an exquisite production such as this. But it would be nice to see this falling more into place with politics as well.
“If we have more appreciation of one another through the arts, then I think that’s where the negative aspects of politics will hopefully change because its one big world. By celebrating one another, we have respect for the culture and I think it could be a better place.
“I’ve had respect of people from different cultures my whole life, I grew up this way and not everyone did. I grew up in a beautiful city. We weren’t from a strongly influential family, but my father was a newspaper publisher. He met with people from all walks of life, so I grew up that way. Some people have to be introduced to it, they have to be shown. Oh come see this, do this, and maybe they’ll hopefully be inspired.
“There’s a lot of upheaval in our world and on our planet, and when you can see something that takes you away from that in a positive way … that’s as culturally and spiritually uplifting as this was, and see this as the beauty of the production that it was, then I think I would definitely be learning something about someone else’s culture—even if [I] didn’t know anything at all. I can appreciate … [that] it’s a dedication that dancers and artists in the performing arts have: to be able to proceed and work as a whole, to make a production as exquisite and beautiful and magical as it was.”
Ms. Walker who attended the performance with her mother, was keen to share their favorites with us, “… I liked the ‘Yi Dance’ [Dance of the Yi], with the beautiful, colorful skirts, and I love the flower dance [Welcoming Spring], and I think she liked The Monkey King Triumphs.”
Ms. Walker’s grandmother was a healer, so she grew up with holistic practices and an awareness of spirituality. She felt the show encompassed a spiritual awareness and beauty saying, “I was glad to see that [spirituality was] incorporated into the production.” She thought that if someone is portrayed as being touched by a miracle, this may touch members of the audience as well. “I think it was very ingenious in the way they have incorporated that.”
Ms. Walker’s mother, who used to be a ballroom dancer, also enjoyed the performance. She added to her daughter’s comments, “I enjoyed the footwork tremendously—that many people on the stage! I think there must have been about 30 at one time, and they were very synchronized. The colors were exquisite. … The design of the dresses and costumes were superb—very uplifting. … [and] outstanding.”
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