INDIANAPOLIS—Playing out Chinese cultural traditions through dance, song, music, and folk stories, Divine Performing Arts (DPA) captivated the audience at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Mr. Rosenbaum, an associate dean in the school of library and information science at an Indiana university, was highly impressed by the show.
“I think it’s an amazing portrayal of Chinese culture. I’m really enjoying the dancers, the movement, the sound, and the stories that they are telling. It’s really a lot of fun,” he said.
Mr. Rosenbaum especially enjoyed the drumming pieces in the show.
“I am partial to the percussions and I enjoy listening to the drummers. I’ve always enjoyed drumming, and I used to drum myself but not this type of drum. I enjoy listening to that type of music and I like watching people do it.”
The New York-based DPA is composed of a unique group of leading artists who share in a vision of reviving Chinese traditional culture which was all but destroyed with the advent of communist rule in China.
“It’s very interesting and I am glad that they are offering a critique of contemporary Chinese culture,” said Mr. Rosenbaum, who has a background in sociology.
The show depicts myths and legends from ancient China, contrasting with stories from modern-day China where spiritual belief is persecuted. One such piece shows the father of a young girl being persecuted for his belief in the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa.
Mr. Rosenbaum said one of his students practises Falun Dafa, a spiritual discipline that was outlawed by the Chinese regime in 1999.
“I learned an awful lot about the way the Chinese government is attempting to persecute the practitioners of Falun Dafa. I know much more now than I knew three years ago, pretty much because of her, and I’m glad to see that there is some comment going on in the dancing and the singing.”
He said it’s sad that repression of belief “is going on, not just in this context but any context that people are being persecution for what they believe.”
Mr. Rosenbaum added that using performing arts is a good way to portray such abuses.
“I think that taking advantage of any kind of media outlet or any kind of form of communication is beneficial. And this type performance obviously reaches a lot different kinds of people. As I am looking around I see a very diverse audience which I am very happy to see.”
In accordance with Chinese traditions, the DPA performance goes beyond mere surface meanings and presents the values that acted as the foundation of the age-old culture.
“The values seem to be peace, compassion and caring for others, and there is nothing wrong with that. We hope to see some more of that in our society,” said Mr. Rosenbaum.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.