CHICAGO—The Divine Performing Arts show does more than inspire with its beauty and traditional dance and music—it can also remind those who lived under the old Soviet bloc of darker times. Attending the Chicago Divine Performing Arts performance on Saturday Dec. 27 were people from both Poland and Latvia.
Ms. Bonikowski, originally from Poland, liked the show. She mentioned that this was the first time she saw any kind of Chinese show. “I was a little surprised that the Divine Performing Arts dancers were from the United States and not China,” she said.
“We had the communist party in Poland,” Ms. Bonikowski said, “so I could relate” to the performances that depicted the persecution of Falun Gong in China. “I was sad and think about when communists were in Poland,” she added.
Two of the story-telling dances depicted Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China for their peaceful beliefs.
Mr. Pakuccis, originally from Latvia, has lived in Chicago for 10 years. He had been shopping in Costco when he stumbled upon some ticket sellers for the show.
He explained that Latvia was also once under communist rule. Watching the pieces about Falun Gong’s persecution reminded him of painful memories: “The show explains how life is under communist rule. They kill people for nothing. In Russia when they were under communist rule,[the Soviets would] take people on trains like animals and ship them to Siberia. In China the same thing.”
For more information please visit DivinePerformingArts .org
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