SAN FRANCISCO—Divine Performing Arts (DPA) performed the fourth show last Friday, January 9, at San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. Through classical music and dance the show relives ancient stories from China’s greatest dynasties.
“I think the show exhibits traditional culture on a grand scale,” said Dr. Wang, a civil engineer living in the Bay Area.
Dr. Wang, who is originally from Shandong, China, said the Dance of Snow-Capped Mountain, a male dance ensemble, was an impressive exhibition of masculinity with joyful rhythm. He also enjoyed how Mulan Joins the Battle was played out by the dancers. In this tale, Mulan’s aging father finds himself torn: he wishes not to defy the Emperor’s decree to defend the country, yet at his age he cannot go to the battlefield. Instead, Mulan disguises herself as a man and spends the next ten-plus years in the military. When, in the final scene, the Emperor comes to commend our hero, he is in for a big surprise.
Dr. Wang felt the songs in the show expressed the voices of the artists well. ”The lyrics in the songs really make audience members ponder and seek answers, especially the songs like, Finding Myself and Let Reason Prevail.”
While the dances are performed without words, Dr. Wang said, one can understand the story through the expressions of the dancers and choreography. “The Monkey King Triumphs reminded me of my childhood when I read the story.”
He said he believes the DPA promotes the spiritual aspect of traditional Chinese culture. “In Mainland China, everyone is focused on the material aspect of their lives. Everyone should have freedom of belief and everyone should stand up for one’s belief.”
“Real gold fears no fire!” Dr. Wang said about the dance, Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution. “I know that this couldn’t be put on stages in China at the present time, but I hope one day it can,” he said.
Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution depicts a modern-day scene in China, a painful reality of oppression for many millions of people. Here, an innocent family witnesses the father being persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional spiritual discipline. Theirs is the human face of the countless tragic, broken lives in China we seldom hear about. The fantastic 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.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
Original article in Chinese
