“I think it was fantastic,” said Mr. Olender, a city councillor of a township in Ontario. “It was a good mix of what the culture is, what the history is, and what the hope for the future is. I thought it was just superb.”
New York-based DPA is a unique group of leading artists who have been reviving the best of traditional Chinese performing arts, depicting many legendary tales drawn from China’s 5,000-year history.
“I was taken aback by the history, the culture coming forward from ancient times to now and the way they performed it with such grace and elegance,” said Mr. Olender.
“The colours, the elegance of the costumes, the performers were all just super. The men were very energetic, the women were graceful and elegant in their performances.”
Mr. Olender commented on the marked contrast between the demeanor of the male and the female performers.
“I really noticed the energy in the male performers—they had so much energy. And when you watch the female performers it was strictly elegance and beauty and grace. So there was a contrast there. I thought it was fantastic.”
Mr. Olender also enjoyed the music. The DPA orchestra breaks new ground with its blend of Chinese and Western instruments, and the show features leading solo musicians including a soprano and a tenor.
He said that the unique state-of-the-art digital backdrops “fit right into what they were doing. It really highlighted everything. You knew exactly what was going on, why they were performing what they were performing and how it related to the past and present and everything.”
Mr. Olender concluded by saying he would tell his constituents to “get out and watch it, it’s an experience, a cultural event. I think it’s very important for us to know other cultures, and what we saw here today was a performance that was beautiful and graceful. I guess I can’t say enough superlatives.”
“It was one heck of a great performance. My wife enjoyed, I enjoyed it and I would recommend anyone else to come and see it.”
The Epoch Times is the proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.