TORONTO—Celebrities, politicians, artists and CEOs alike were captivated by the Mid-Autumn Spectacular, a Chinese cultural show that just completed a five-day run at Toronto’s John Bassett Theatre.
The force behind the Spectacular is the New York-based Divine Performing Arts, a group of leading artists who have been reviving China’s ancient culture using the best of traditional Chinese performing arts.
Olympic figure skating champion Elvis Stojko, who attended Saturday night’s performance, said after the show that “everything was impressive.”
“I felt a sense of happiness and a sense of peace when I finished watching the whole thing,” said Stojko.
“It’s a breath of fresh air and there’s a great lyricism and a great sense of, how can I put it, there’s that delicacy to the way that the dances are done.”
Fashion designer Dan Liu, creator of the Tatsuaki fashion line sold at Holt Renfrew, said the Spectacular will inspire his next collection.
“The show is spectacular. I was surprised, honestly. I can only say — stunning, I must repeat again — I’m stunned,” said Liu.
“Trust me, the costumes gave me a lot of ideas for my next collection. I’m going to design more Chinese-style dresses and outfits. They looked fantastic. Tonight I’m going to go home and go back to my office and just close the windows, close the doors, and just start drawing.”
Vanessa Harwood, a former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, is also a choreographer, artistic director, teacher and actor. It was Ms Harwood’s second time seeing the Spectacular.
“I enjoyed it again very much. As you know it’s my second time and once again I’m still taken with my Mongolian dancers. They’re still my favourite even though the whole program was very delightful. And the two MC’s were great too ... very funny.”
Ms. Harwood said it was “very nice” to see Michelle Ren, one of the principal dancers in the Spectacular.
“She’s beautiful. She was delightful, very passionate. She has more experience and you can feel that in her portrayals of some of the more emotional things.”
Ms. Harwood attended the show with her friend, Nadia Potts, director of Ryerson’s Dance Program and also a former principal dancer in the National Ballet.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Ms. Potts. “I was impressed by the ardency and the passion of the dancers and how beautifully rehearsed they are. They all seem to really enjoy what they’re doing.”
The two also shared their observations on some of the unique characteristics of Chinese classical dance.
“The feet are very different, and the hands and everything because it’s all very specific – where the hands go, the way the arms are held, where the head is held and so on. And they’re very true to it ... It was beautiful,” said Ms. Harwood.
“Everything has meaning,” added Ms. Potts. “Sometimes we miss that in today’s performers.”
Jeniva Berger, the founding president of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association, said this was also her second time to see a Divine Performing Arts show. Although she enjoyed it the first time, she said she got more out of watching it a second time.
“I think the second time is better because you get a real sense of the history behind it and also the fact that so much has been influenced in modern times by this kind of dancing.
“Your immediate impression when you get out is ‘yeah, it’s Spectacular.‘ It’s beautiful, everything is gorgeous; it flows very well.”
Germany’s Consul General in Toronto, Holger Raasch, enjoyed everything about the Spectacular. “I loved the music, I loved the costumes, I loved the legends…”
“The legends were impressive. We had love stories, we had war stories as well, and they were beautiful ... You could understand them directly without having heard the stories before.”
Mr. Raasch was also impressed by the unique qualities of the Divine Performing Arts Orchestra which blends the melodies and character of Chinese instruments with the full sounds of a Western symphony orchestra.
“It was very nice to listen to,” he said.
Kenneth Gord, a Gemini-nominated film director who attended the show with his wife, said he found the Spectacular “just really, really wonderful — good singing, good dancing, good costumes, and really beautiful music.
“It just struck me as being sort of delicate and elegant, it was just beautiful. I’m used to rock concerts, so the Mongolian Bowl Dance was a refreshing treat. And the tenor was really talented,” he said.
In the Mongolian Bowl Dance, one of the Spectacular’s most popular numbers, dancers dressed in cerulean blue whirl around the stage with Chinese bowls delicately balanced atop their heads.
Jeanne Lamon, a Member of the Order of Canada honoured for her work as a baroque violinist, concertmaster and chamber musician, was also highly impressed by the show.
“It’s very spectacular, the costumes are wonderful, everything visual is fantastic. I love all the backdrops and all the scenery, and the costumes and the dancing are magnificent.
“I love having live music. I think that it’s wonderful that there are so many Chinese instruments in there. I love the erhu and the flute and the pipa and the drums. It’s great,” she said.
It was the diversity within the show that impressed Senator Consiglio Di Nino.
“You are treated to this scene of different variety and it is really quite stunning, and then it sort of fuses it with some wonderful music and singing.”
Charles Pachter, one of Canada’s leading contemporary artists whose works hang in public and private collections around the world said, “I love the traditional dancing, it’s really beautifully done. It’s obviously a very well-trained cast.”
Mr. Pachter was also impressed with the show’s innovative digital backdrops that present a living landscape in which each dance unfolds.
“I am curious to know what kind of technique they are using. It was very well done.”
Caledon Mayor Marilyn Morrison said she “liked the way you were taken through the dance, music, some of the songs and history ... everything was just beautiful.
“The way [the dancers] moved you could understand what they were talking about and you could understand their sadness and their happiness, which to me was just amazing because normally we think we have to talk.”
Mayor Morrison added that the show’s emphasis on traditional Chinese virtues, like compassion and forbearance, was particularly interesting to her as an official concerned about the moral fortitude of her community, particularly among the youth.
“In North America, we have lost some of those values and are not living by those principles any more. When you lose those values, you end up in a downward spiral and I think that we are going that way. I would love to find a way to stop that.”
To that end, the Mayor said she would encourage more people in her community to see the show.
“This is the most fabulous magnificent show I have ever seen in my life,” said Ms. Rathika Babithas, a fund accountant with RBC. “I’m so blessed to see this program.”
Literal Magazine’s associate editor, Wendolyn Lozano, also thoroughly enjoyed the show.
“We were just talking about [how] they really convey not only the dance, but their spirituality. It’s amazing and we are very surprised.”
Leif Bristow, film producer, actor and CEO of Knightscove Media Corp, has seen the Spectacular three times in all.
“It’s improved and improved and improved. I would say that of the shows I’ve seen, this is by far the most polished. I think the choreography is so spectacular this year. Really beautiful. I love the show.”
His wife Agnes, who writes educational materials for schools and universities, was also moved by the show’s deeper meanings.
“I think the message is all about caring for other people, nurturing the human spirit and just love and support. I thought it was one of the most phenomenal shows I have ever seen. I will come back every time.”
Doug Dickerson, a city councillor for Pickering, Ontario said, “The show is absolutely spectacular, there’s no question about it. It just takes your breath away to see the vibrancy of it.”
Sheng Xue, a noted China expert and news commentator in Toronto, said the Spectacular was helping to revive traditional Chinese culture which had been co-opted by the China’s current communist regime and twisted to serve as party propaganda.
“It is eliminating the poison of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture that is usually found in Chinese cultural productions exported around the world,” she said.
“My biggest impression of this production is that finally there is a force able to utilize artistic expression to present the true splendor and kindness of Chinese culture to the world.”
Randy Hillier, a member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament, said the show was “absolutely terrific.”
James Trusler, president and CEO of Platinex, a minerals exploration company, said the show was “just gorgeous — the costuming, all of the cultural aspects of it – very entertaining and quite pleasant.”
Alison Martin, the chief representative officer for Jamaica National Building Society, said the Spectacular was “very excellent, so rich in precision, exquisiteness, depth, peacefulness, tranquility, and calmness.”
She said the show left her feeling “at peace.”
Divine Performing Arts will return to Toronto again in January for a six-day run as part of its 2009 World Tour. Those performances will also be held at the John Bassett Theatre, one of Toronto’s most intimate venues.
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