SAN FRANCISCO—Classical Chinese dance and music were presented by Divine Performing Arts (DPA) in gloriously colorful and exhilarating shows on Wednesday at the War Memorial San Francisco Opera House.
Reviving an art form five millennia old, Chinese dance is refreshingly dynamic and expressive. Ancient legends and heroic figures came to life through leaps, spins, and delicate gestures.
Mr. Jarrett, a theater critic for the last 23 years and a writer for a local newspaper, praised the show’s “superb talent.”
“The show is excellent! Very, very well balanced, buoyant, it has a good feel to it. It’s joyful, it’s fun, and it’s entertaining!”
The Chinese New Year Spectacular contains captivating dancers, vocalists, and a live orchestra. It showcases original costumes and traditional narratives about spirituality, historical characters, and events in a two-hour extravaganza.
“It’s hard to say which number was my favorite. I really enjoyed the Tibetan dance, and yet I love the blossom dance, the colors and the pinks and the whites in the blossom when they opened up,” said the theater critic referring to the two dances Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain and The Udumbara’s Bloom.
In the Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain, the dancers, undaunted by the snow, vigorously celebrate the joys of the Tibetan steppes. In The Udumbara’s Bloom dancers draw inspiration from the Buddhist Dunhuang caves in Western China, displaying the beauty of a millennia-old legend about a special flower.
“I thought that this was truly excellent. Also, the blend of instruments in the live orchestra was excellent!”
Starting from mid-December, hundreds of world’s foremost classical Chinese dance artists, vocalists, and musicians of DPA began their 2009 tour. Three companies of DPA will tour a total of more than 70 major cities in 20 different countries on five continents.
“When we live tonight, we’ll take with us an appreciation of the culture that has been lost. It’s been pushed to one side in modern China today, but I’m glad to see that there is an effort to bring it back, to retain it, and to make the world aware of the classical music and dance of China,” said Mr. Jarrett.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts International Tour.
For more information, please see divineperformingarts.org
Friends Read Free