OTTAWA—“A combination of history and spirituality in one,” was how new appointee to the Order of Canada described the renowned Divine Performing Arts (DPA) show currently playing at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.
David Matas received the appointment, Canada’s highest civilian honour, last week for his contributions to human rights legislation as well as to immigration and refugee law.
“I liked the show very much,” he said, after attending Saturday evening’s performance. “I’m impressed with the choreography, the music, the costumes, the originality, the blending of ancient and modern. I’ve seen the show before and it just gets better each year.”
Mr. Matas was a member of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1980 and to the United Nations Conference on an International Criminal Court in 1998. He also taught law at McGill University and at the University of Manitoba.
In recent years, the lauded human rights defender served organizations such as Amnesty International and B’nai Brith Canada. Along with former MP David Kilgour, Mr. Matas co-authored “Bloody Harvest,” a report on the illicit harvesting of the organs of Falun Gong practitioners by the communist authorities in China.
“This is the only exposure to ancient Chinese traditions that I’ve seen, so for me it’s an insight into a whole different world,” said Mr. Matas.
DPA is a New York-based performance company founded by leading Chinese dancers, choreographers, and musicians that seeks to revive China’s traditional culture and present it to audiences around the world through Chinese classical dance and music.
Mr. Matas said he doubted if such a show could be seen in China as the regime’s “atheism is kind of a state doctrine, and they‘ve also broken from the ancient Chinese traditions, so I assume we wouldn‘t get that either. But I‘m not saying that from personal experience, it‘s just what I imagine.”
DPA carefully maintains independence from China’s political regime. When asked what he thought about the ability of the show to portray what’s going on in China, Mr. Matas said he thought it conveys an image, an impression, and is sensitizing people.
“I got a sense from watching the show of the hardship of the persecution in the victimization, particularly with the singing but also generally, I got a feeling that you could see that [Falun Gong] is a community that is suffering and that comes through from the show.
The piece, “Persecuted on a Sacred Path” tells the tale of a father persecuted for practicing Falun Gong, a traditional spiritual practice rooted in ancient Chinese culture that was banned by the Chinese regime in 1999.
“One of the many positive aspects of Falun Gong is that it is helping to maintain this traditional Chinese culture and tradition which otherwise might be lost. The presentation is obviously in the context of a performance, but it’s effective because it’s symbolic.
The Epoch Times is the proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts. Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
