MADISON, Wis. —Making their debut in Madison, Wisconsin, the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) awed audience members in the elegant Overture Center For the Arts Thursday night, Feb. 12. DPA is equipped with a forty-piece orchestra —a classical Western orchestra augmented with traditional Chinese instruments such as the “erhu”.
Mr. Bootzin, a music instructor and accomplished classic guitar player, said he finds it interesting that the DPA Orchestra combines the use of classic Chinese instruments with Western instruments.
For the last ten years, Mr. Bootzin has been involved in, and managed stage productions, for many shows in the United States. He intensely studies guitar pedagogy and other music forms.
Mr. Bootzin commented on how impressed he was with the visual aspects of the show, particularly with the contrast of colors, the costumes and the choreography. “The costumes are amazing and absolutely beautiful.” He further commented, “The lighting director accentuated the costumes very nicely, very well done. The choreography is very tight and again very well done!”
With its state of the art interactive backdrops, Mr. Bootzin said that the mountain scene in the legend of Monk Ji Gong, a beloved figure from Chinese history, was very effective work of that animation.
Celebrating the true spirit of Chinese culture, DPA highlights the five-thousand year journey humanity has traveled with its superb display of storytelling through classic Chinese dance, a live orchestra, and master soloist performances.
‘I loved it!’
Mr. Neuenfelt, has several government positions in Madison. He works for the AFLCIO, Federation of Labor Unions and is a co-chair of the Apollo Alliance a branch of the government responsible for creating environmental jobs.
“I loved it! Beautiful colors, music very lively! My favorite piece was with the communists and the Falun Gong. It demonstrated struggle, and freedom.” He is referring to ‘Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution’ a depiction the oppression for many millions of persons in China today, as witnessed by an innocent family whose father is 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.
Mr. Neuenfelt said he would definitely come and see the show again.
Senator Enjoys Show
Senator Fred Risser, President of the Wisconsin State Senate and a lawyer, and his wife were also in the audience for this evening performance.
“It was different and I really did not know what I was going to be seeing. I found it extremely colorful and quite fascinating. I thought the backdrops were very well done and fit into the performance very well.”
The Senator concluded, “I found it quite an enjoyable evening and if they come back to Madison I would definitely consider taking it in again.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information, please see DivinePerformingArts.org
