NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—New Jersey state senator, Barbara Buono, was among the enthusiastic audience at the State Theatre in New Jersey, watching the world-class performance of the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Spectacular, Sunday, Jan. 25.
This is the first time that the DPA has performed in New Jersey and the full house greeted the show heartily. The audience rewarded the performers with extended clapping and laughter at the hosts' jokes.
It was an audience that immersed itself in the performance and many, women and men, expressed their emotions by unashamedly dabbing their eyes during emotional scenes.
Senator Buono said the show was “wonderful.”
“My emotions are running the gamut. It’s uplifting and then at times, with the persecution and the Falun Gong, its very saddening, but I am enjoying it immensely."
In a modern day portrayal of Chinese culture, a dance depicts the persecution of a father in China for practising Falun Gong. The 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, even if not in this lifetime.
Tears welled up in Ms. Buono's eyes when she watched the Falun Gong scene. She said, "The part about Falun Gong persecution … I [had] tears [in my eyes]. I didn’t want to but it was done beautifully. But, it was very sad as well. I liked that."
America, as a melting pot of many cultures, is rich in cultural diversity but it also has strong ancestral traditions.
Ms. Buono acknowledged as much when she said, “Happy New Year to everyone and it’s a day to celebrate a New Year, the year of the Ox, but it’s also a day to celebrate pride, pride in our cultural ancestry, I think that’s very important and I think that when we live our lives, we can lose sight of that sometimes and I think its important to maintain a connection and to strengthen and enhance the connection to our cultural identity and that’s what this does, and I am enjoying it immensely. It’s not just entertainment, it’s educational as well.”
Ms. Buono continued, "Happy New Year and this is a new beginning, our new beginning for this year. This New Year, we ring it in with diversity. I’m happy to be here and celebrate our country’s diversity.”
There are many scenes in The Spectacular that show happiness and beauty, and Ms. Buono was all eyes and ears, "I also loved the women dancing, the women from the countryside with the colorful skirts. Also, the synchronized dancing was beautiful. It was quite beautiful”.
China's traditional culture was something that Ms. Buono appreciated greatly and she said she makes sure that her children are brought up knowing and understanding such values. "We have a lot to learn from such an ancient culture, it’s five thousand years old. I often tell my children to “think highly of yourselves [and] treat yourselves like an ancient Ming vase.’ They know a lot about Chinese culture. It’s an ancient culture. We have a lot to learn."
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour.
For more information, please visit divineperformingarts.org