KITCHENER-WATERLOO, Ontario—Among the residents of Kitchener-Waterloo who took in the Divine Performing Arts opening show at the Centre in the Square Theatre Tuesday night was city councillor Ms. Scian.
“I thought it was incredible, I thought it was beautiful. I thought it was informative, it made you think and I thought it was a really an exciting evening,” she said following the show.
Ms. Scian, who holds degrees in both kinesiology and education, brought her mother to the show and had front-row seats. She praised the creativity and diversity of the Divine Performing Arts dance company.
“It did a beautiful job of illustrating the history of China and how things have evolved so beautifully,” she said.
Divine Performing Arts takes its inspiration from 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and seeks to revive traditional Chinese performing arts—arts which have been suppressed or propagandized under China’s current communist regime.
“I think we were really lucky to be so close to the musicians because that gave us an opportunity to see the variety of instruments we are accustomed to mixed in with some of the beautiful traditional Chinese instruments.”
The Divine Performing Arts orchestra combines the rich, full sound of a Western symphony orchestra with traditional Chinese melodies and Chinese instruments, enabling its compositions to at once mine the potential of Western orchestral music, and yet be rich in Chinese qualities.
The Centre in the Square Theatre, which is hosting the show in Kitchener-Waterloo, is known for having some of the best acoustics in the country.
“The look on the faces of the performers was really astonishing. They feel really strongly about it, so that was nice. You can see that they are enjoying their performance. It is something they truly enjoy and sharing the mission that they have and the picture that they show us. That was beautiful!”
Ms. Scian added that she really enjoyed the cultural characteristic of the show and that it really helped her understand the length and depth of Chinese history.
“They have been through so many changes, compared to what we have gone through in North America.”
Ms. Scian is a passionate volunteer who sits on many boards as part of her civic duties but is also a part of local youth organizations. She encouraged her constituents to come see the show.
“Beautiful! Beautiful!” she said.
Divine Performing Arts will take to the stage two more times in Kitchener-Waterloo before moving on to Toronto for a six-day run at John Bassett Theatre.
The full-house that saw the show Tuesday gave the performance a standing ovation.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts.
For more information, please see DivinePerformingArts.org
