SARASOTA, Florida—Divine Performing Arts brought its magic to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, in Sarasota, Florida, Dec. 22, telling its tales of traditional Chinese heroes and history to an appreciative audience. Located on Florida’s southwest coast, Sarasota is a cultural center, with a professional symphony, ballet, and opera. This is the first time that Sarasota has hosted Divine Performing Arts.
The audience at the Van Wezel was diverse in background and profession, but unanimous in their appreciation for the dancing, singing, and colorful costumes and scenery.
Audience member Mr. Teryek, who is retired from the military, volunteers his time to help organize the archives of the Sarasota Ballet. An experienced theatergoer and well-acquainted with classical dance, Mr. Teryek appreciated the finer points of the performance as well as the grand spectacle.
His first impressions were of “Diversity of movements, gestures, postures, and also the spirituality that seems to run through all of what they are doing.”
Asked which act was his favorite, he replied, “I guess the spring one with the flowers and the fans [‘Welcoming Spring’], although I liked the athleticism I saw in some of the other pieces—the jumps and swings of the legs, in a kind of kick.
Mr. Teryek bought tickets for both Sarasota performances because he wanted to be able to appreciate the whole panorama of the stage and backdrop and the ensemble dancing, but also wanted to be able to focus on the intricate details of the hand gestures and facial expressions, which convey so much of the meaning of the dances.
“There is so much going on that it is hard to take it all in,” he said. “I am sitting up front, and I am trying to scan for everything and still focus on the hand gestures and the movements of the arms, and at the same time, the different postures and the movements of the feet, and the facial expressions, and the movements of the head.”
“Tomorrow I will be sitting in the back. I find I can see different things from the back than I see up close. When I sit in the back, I will be able to see the magic of the lighting, and I also see the larger ensemble.”
Mr. Teryek wondered how a Chinese theater company could perform numbers that dealt with traditional Chinese myths, legends, values, and morality. The mystery was cleared up when the host announced that most of the performers were American Chinese.
“I am surprised. Most of these performers are ethnic Chinese, but American-Chinese, and they are trying to recreate Chinese culture from the past. I was wondering if this was an international group I was watching, in terms of the character and the consciousness and the sophistication I was seeing. When I found that they were American-Chinese, well, that explains it.”
When told that the dancers had first to learn traditional Chinese culture to spread it to the world, Mr. Teryek responded, “They are doing it very well.”
The show, which started the Florida leg of this year’s tour in Fort Lauderdale, will play for the second time in Sarasota, on Tues., Dec. 23, before traveling on to Jacksonville, and points beyond.
For more information please visit DivinePerformingArts.org
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