"I thought it was indeed spectacular, there's no question about that," said Mr. Roe during the intermission of the show. "They told the story they said they were going to tell, and I enjoyed it."
Mr. Roe is also a Professor Emeritus of System Design Engineering at one of Canada's leading universities known for its technology programs. These programs have led to more business spin-offs than any other university. Mr. Roe co-founded the Department of Systems Design Engineering there.
Mr. Roe said the show was very interesting and the two MCs that introduced each act did a great job of making sure the audience understood the cultural dances and legends they were about to see.
His favourite piece was one of the two dances set in contemporary China called Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution.
It depicts the tale of a father persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional spiritual discipline. The fantastic scenes that ultimately unfold in this piece present a message of hope and bespeak of a longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, whether in this lifetime or in the next.
Mr. Roe, who has been to China, said he could really related to it. He also found soprano Pi-ju Huang particularly moving.
"I thought the soprano that sang at the beginning was very good. I just liked her big voice," he said. "She probably doesn't need a microphone to fill this hall."
Divine Performing Arts also makes use of an innovative digital backdrop that provides an animated setting to frame each dance. The scenes on the backdrop often interact with the dances on stage in interesting ways that Mr. Roe said he enjoyed.
"Its kind of cool, I got kind of used to it. The gods coming down from heaven were really quite something," he said, referring to one dance where a divine scene unfolds.
"I felt that the way that they combined that with the dancers on stage was quite interesting."
Mr. Roe was also impressed with Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountains, a folk dance in which the dancers celebrate the joys of the Tibetan steppes as they spin, stomp, and step in an extravagant gesture of welcome.
"I also liked the drummers, the ones holding the little octagonal drums," Mr. Roe said, referring to Dragon Springs Drummers, adding that they were well-choreographed.
In conclusion, Mr. Roe said he was glad he could make it to the show and encouraged his constituents to come as well.
"This is a show when it comes back to Kitchener-Waterloo its worth coming to see.
"I knew I was going to enjoy it."
Divine Performing Arts will take the stage three times in Kitchener-Waterloo at the Centre in the Square Theatre. The New York-based performance company played on Tuesday to a full-house and received a standing ovation. After two more shows on Wednesday, DPA will move on to Toronto for a six-day run.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts.
For more information, please see DivinePerformingArts.org