WASHINGTON—Art critics and audiences from New York City to Taipei to Frankfurt have spoken of the sublime beauty and glorious appearance of the Divine Performing Arts (DPA): The Spectacular 2009. But behind the gorgeous costumes and seemingly effortless leaps and refined movements that gives so much pleasure to the eye, are the techniques used to create the scenes that must be practiced to perfection. And in addition to technique is also the raw physical side of it, the mortal bodies of the dancers that can conjure up divine beings. Perhaps there is no better way to understand the physicality and technique involved than to observe the choreographer and principal dancer for DPA Michelle Ren conduct a master class on Chinese Classical Dance.
Ms. Ren was in town to perform for five nights and two afternoons at the prestigious Kennedy Center Opera House, Feb. 10-15. The company is touring in nearly 80 cities worldwide. Seeing an opportunity to enrich their students’ learning, Strathmore Dance School invited Ms. Ren, to conduct the class on Monday night, which was their first exposure to Chinese Classical Dance.
“I was unaware of the level of athleticism and training that I didn’t know existed,” said Lorraine Spiegler, director of the Studio Education and the Conservatory, which includes the Studio Center at Strathmore, when asked about her expectations for the class.
Ms. Ren began training in China at the age of 6 and has won several dance awards, including the first prize in the Adult Female Division of New Tang Dynasty Television’s International 2007 Chinese Classical Dance Competition.
Watching Ms. Ren teach the class is to see a young lady in constant motion. She never stood for long to lecture but moved continuously while instructing the 12 students who could fit into the room, and who tried to follow along and understand a different culture than that with which they were familiar. All four walls were mirrored and wherever Ms. Ren faced, the students could watch her and themselves. Ms. Ren began the lesson by showing the hand position that is in the shape of a flower.
“Chinese classical dance is more about fluidity and circular motion rather than like ballet, which is more about position and lines,” commented Mariel Miller, 18, who enjoyed the class. She said Chinese classical dance, as she was experiencing it in the master class, is about circles and the periphery while ballet was centered more in the body and head.
Ms. Ren is always counting, one, two, three, four, five … and seems to have boundless energy. But that may be part of the illusion. “A phrase so often used of dancers of great elegance, ‘they make it seems so effortless,’ but it has taken an entire lifetime to make it seem like it is no work at all,” said Paul Emerson, founder and director of City Dance.
Speaking of the importance of learning by doing, Ms. Spiegler said, “They don’t really recognize themselves in another art form unless they experience it in their own body.”
Ms. Spiegler has 25 years of experience in the dance field as an educator, director, and choreographer and holds a B.A. in Dance cum laude as well two Masters, in Dance and Arts Management from American University.
Asked what the students learned from this class, Ms. Spiegler said, “I think what they got out of it is the beauty of [a] culture and interest for the development of their own dance … They will be much, much more open to other dance [than they would have been before].”
The Kennedy Center Opera House is the second largest theater at the Center with 2,300 seats. Designed for ballet, opera, and musical theater, the Opera house has hosted dozens of what are known to be the best dance and opera companies. In the nearly entirely red theater, one will find many prized gifts of art including: the red and gold curtain, which measures 47 feet long and 17 feet wide, a gift from Japan; and an intricate chandelier made from Lobmeyr crystal which uses 1,735 light bulbs.
Divine Performing Arts (DPA), a nonprofit organization, is based in New York. It consists of dancers, choreographers, and musicians that is independent of the current communist regime in China. 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, 1966-76.
Ronny Dory contributed to this article.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
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