TORONTO—Sheng Xue, a renowned Chinese-Canadian poet, journalist, and news critic, is a not a typical Divine Performing Arts (DPA) fan. Her distinctive passion for DPA arises from her deep understanding of the show’s role in society. She was among the full house audience at DPA’s fifth show on Sunday at John Bassett Theatre.
Over the years, Ms. Sheng, vice president, Federation for a Democratic China, has not missed a single season of DPA in Toronto, from the New Year Spectacular, to the Mid-Autumn Spectacular, and now the 2009 World Tour. Occasionally, she traveled all the way to New York City just to watch another performance.
Her view is that DPA’s significant meaning transcends its renaissance of traditional Chinese culture and its showcase of lost history. “More importantly, the show provides a chance for the Chinese people to learn about the truth. For Chinese people who have been repeatedly deceived by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over a long period of time, knowing the ultimate truth is most crucial.”
The guiding mission of Divine Performing Arts is to rediscover and renew humanity’s true, rightful cultural heritage. DPA, which is based in New York, is a nonprofit organization consisting of world-class dancers, choreographers, and musicians that is independent of China’s communist regime. It aims to revive the ancient culture and traditions of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization that were suppressed or eliminated during the Cultural Revolution.
DPA Helps Chinese Break Away From Delusions
Ms. Sheng, who moved from Beijing to Toronto after witnessing the Tiananmen Square massacre, said that the DPA can assist the Chinese people break through their delusion under the CCP propaganda—that outside the environment permeated with CCP culture, there is a world of freedom.
A China expert and the recipient of the Canadian Association for Journalists Award for Investigative Journalism in 2000, Ms. Sheng noted that the few parts of the show related to Falun Gong reflect the true situation of the CCP’s ongoing persecution of the traditional spiritual discipline.
Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution is a poignant story depicting the persecution of the Buddhist School discipline of Falun Gong in China today. 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.
Ms. Sheng said she “strongly agreed” with the message presented and felt the show allowed Chinese people to have an opportunity to know the truth before making decisions. “People make decisions for their lives and lifestyles; they choose what to believe and what to accept. I feel that everyone should at least first watch the DPA show.”
“I believe that a majority of Chinese people are actually pure and kind in nature; yet, they have not had a chance to know the truth under the Chinese regime’s propaganda. They’ve been terrorized by CCP’s violent actions. As time gradually passed, they eventually had to give up their basic right of knowing the truth.”
Ms. Sheng brought a friend to the Sunday show, who had just emigrated from China to Canada. She said he had not known the true story behind the long persecution of Falun Gong.
“So I feel the very first step is to tell people the truth. Then the second step is for the person to explore what is a good life, what is a good lifestyle, and what would be a better choice for his or her own living.”
Performance Establishes a New Cultural Environment
Ms. Sheng said a unique role the DPA 2009 World Tour is playing is through filling in the culturally blank parts of the Chinese people.
“Everyone who has lived in China knows, in that kind of environment, people are absorbed within the Party culture implemented by the CCP in every regard. From eating, living, moving, seeing, listening, to speaking—everything has been influenced by the Party culture over the years. However, within the people’s soul, a trace of the traditional Chinese culture still remains. People still have the culture deep down in their hearts, and it never completely disappeared.
“In order to relinquish the CCP culture, one must obtain a new culture for replacement. … The DPA performance generates a new cultural atmosphere, establishes a new cultural environment for us, inspires us to a new way of thinking, and provides us a new enjoyment—it is very crucial to every one of us.”
She said that Chinese people living overseas have a greater opportunity.
“If we cannot find new opportunities, then we’ll end up soaking in the CCP culture again. So I feel that shows such as DPA are not only a revival of traditional culture, but simultaneously a cleansing of the CCP culture that we’ve been soaked in for the past six decades.”
DPA Will Eventually Perform in Mainland China
As for DPA, which is currently forbidden in China by the CCP, Ms. Sheng is confident that it will eventually reach there. “One day, DPA will grace the stage in mainland China for sure.
“Because Chinese society is changing, and the speed of change is accelerating. By the time the CCP collapses in China, that’s when a renaissance of Chinese traditional culture can take place. DPA will assume a major role in this revival for the future China.”
Performance Changes Western Society’s Attitude Towards Chinese People
Every time she sees so many Westerners at DPA shows, Ms. Sheng believes it is a wonderful opportunity for them to witness authentic Chinese heritage, rather than always seeing the arts promoted by the Chinese officials, which foster a false impression of the Chinese culture.
“For every unique individual, DPA offers a different atmosphere, a different enjoyment, and a distinctive cultural choice. I believe that everyone who has watched DPA would admit that this is the purest and most beautiful form of art. Not only does it have high artistry, but it also embeds profound philosophy.”
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