DPA Brings Eastern Flavor to the Southern Heartland

The audience gives Divine Performing Arts a standing ovation at Huntsville's Von Braun Concert Hall. (The Epoch Times)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Bringing some Eastern flavor to the southern heartland, Divine Performing Arts (DPA) played a single show at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center Concert Hall on the evening of February 6.

Thunderous applause and a standing ovation closed the show, the audience highly impressed with DPA’s lavish production. Among them was Ms. Anderson, a VP for a global charity organization.

“I really enjoyed the show. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I enjoyed the music, the costumes—it was just very unique,” she said.

New York-based DPA was founded by leading Chinese artists seeking to revive and showcase China’s traditional culture. The performance company does this through the medium of classical Chinese dance, a unique dance heritage that is part of China’s 5,000-year culture and a means by which that culture lives on.

“I especially liked the history and the traditions of China. I learned a lot I didn’t know before,” said Ms. Anderson, going on to describe what particularly stood out for her.

“The costumes caught my eye—just extravagant, the colors, the designs, the flow with the sleeves and the dresses—that was my favorite. The movement was awesome.”

Ms. Anderson was referring to a piece called Flowing Sleeves in which the dancers wear elegant dresses with long, silken sleeves that extend far beyond their hands—a style popular in the time of the Tang imperial court (618-907).

Chinese culture “is so rich with history it’s unbelievable,” she said, adding that she had no trouble following the storyline of each piece because the dancers’ “movements and their facial expressions told the story.”

DPA uses an innovative digital backdrop that provides an animated setting for each piece. The scenes on the backdrop often interact with the with what’s taking place onstage in interesting ways that Ms. Anderson enjoyed.

“It was kind of like 3D, so that was really neat.”

Along with the live orchestra that combines Chinese and Western music and instruments, the show also features accomplished solo singers and musicians. A definite crowd-pleaser is the stirring, soulful tones of the two-stringed erhu.

In accordance with Chinese traditions, the DPA performance goes beyond mere surface meanings and presents the values that served as the foundation of the age-old culture.

“I think the message was all about courtesy and respect … I think the underlying message was ‘just appreciate every day,’” said Ms. Anderson.

 
For more information please visit DivinePerformingArts.org