“This is a true delight. It's really nice,” he said.
Mr. Bernard, a former member of New Brunswick’s legislative assembly and senior policy advisor for Stockwell Day when he was Minister of Public Safety, said in an interview during intermission that he was thoroughly enjoying the show.
"It's always impressive," said Bernard, adding that this was his second time to see a Divine Performing Arts show.
“I'll keep coming, this is great. Last year I brought my daughter; this year I'm bringing my daughter and my son, so it's very impressive.
"I'm really amazed by the footwork, the dancing foot work, it shows how difficult this is, and these are very talented dancers,” he said.
“I just like the culture—the culture is beautiful. Canada's got culture, but China's got CULTURE! … It's so different that it's refreshing. It's really nice.”
Bernard said the dancing, the colour of the costumes and the overall presentation of the show were very distinct.
“I loved every dance because I could tell just by the footwork that it's just so difficult to do but there's a lady in the show that plays, I'm not sure what it's called, it looks like a violin or something. It's beautiful. I get a kick out of that every time I see it.”
The instrument Barnard is referring to is the “erhu,” a two-stringed Chinese violin known for its hauntingly beautiful and mellow sound.
Bernard complimented the show’s creativity and said that it brought awareness to traditional Chinese culture. He said his favourite piece so far was the one set in contemporary China that depicted a father who was persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa [“Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution”].
“I’ve been aware of what's going on in China with the human rights reports from NGOs so it's basically telling me what I already know, but what's great about this show is it brings awareness to individuals who would not necessarily be exposed to this information.
“There are a lot of reports coming out of China regarding the human rights abuses there, and some of these reports are very scary. People are being slaughtered so their organs can be sold to wealthy individuals who need these organ replacements.”
He said those reports made “Saddam Hussein look like a choir boy.”
The Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour sold out several of its shows in Ottawa and earned standing ovations at every performance. The show will now continue on to Waterloo for two performances on January 6 and 7 before moving on to Toronto where it will play from January 8 to 14.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour.
For more information visit divineperformingarts.org