Mrs. Bam was very enthusiastic about her experience watching the show, “I think it is full of energy, I loved the combination of the acrobats with grace, it was just really incredible and beautiful.
“I liked the rainbow dance. [‘Dance of the Yi,’ a dance and music loving ethnic group dancing in rainbow colored skirts.]
“The little girl was adorable.” [In ‘Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution’ that is about a family persecuted for practicing their spiritual belief, Falun Gong, in modern China. This dance points out the ancient Chinese belief that good is rewarded and evil receives retribution.]
Dr. Bam found the performance “beautiful, restful” with “graceful energy.” He said, “If you have seen Irish foot dancing, which is extremely energetic, but not very graceful, this is much more gently energetic.”
“Yi people was my probably my favorite.
“I appreciate the significance of the last dance.” [‘Knowing the True Picture.’ Higher beings descend to Earth to give mankind moral integrity] … “It represents the deepness of their feelings behind Falun Gong. I think it [is] very representative of how … certain segments of Chinese society feel about their beliefs and their belief systems.”
The professor of sociology had another view of the performance: “I thought the show was a lot of fun. It was very entertaining, and it was very interesting too. I got to see a lot of the history and a lot of the culture, and it … was just terrific.
“I liked all of it … but I would have to say that, Mulan, [‘Mulan Joins the Battle’] was very exciting, and the drumming, of course, was really terrific too.
“I certainly understand a lot more of the artistic sensibilities of … the Chinese people, and I gained a better depth of understanding of the culture.”
When told this show is not allowed in mainland China, he said: “I think that today was a very historic day here in the United States with the first African-American president being elected. I think one of the most important things for all of us to remember, in a global community, is the importance of freedom of expression, and I think that’s one of the things that this show really demonstrated today. … It was very beautiful for that.
“What I took away from the show is really a deep sense of the importance of being able to express freedom of religion and freedom of expression. … It was done in a very artistic and beautiful way.”
He would “absolutely” recommend this show to his friends and family
“It was an excellent show,” said Mr. Bennett Rowe. “The music's fantastic, very, very good. We were right up front. I liked to listen to the orchestra. It sounds tremendous The sound of the symphony is perfect! Very, very good! I like the orchestra—the live music. You don't hear that too much anymore, so to hear live music is very good!” The orchestra uses a classical Western orchestra as its foundation and augments this with traditional Chinese instruments, bringing rich harmonies.
“I like it because this is the first traditional Chinese dance I've seen in person. My beautiful wife is Chinese, so, this helps bring something very special to me. It’s wonderful! Actually, this is her birthday present.”
“I was born here in the US,” said Mrs. Rowe, “but I'm Chinese, Cantonese. I thought that it was beautiful. I love the mix of Chinese dance. … It’s beautiful. The full orchestra was beautiful, too.” [DPA performances include a mix of classical Chinese dance as well as Chinese and ethnic folk dances.]
Mr. Rowe added, “I saw costumes here that I didn't expect to see. What was interesting was the amount of color that’s in a lot of the costumes!”
A local attorney expressed his appreciation: “I've seen traditional Chinese opera before, but I've never seen this type of show before. It was very delightful to watch!
“I think the one with the fans that was probably visually most stunning. I enjoyed that quite a bit. [“Welcoming Spring” is a colorful, exuberant fan dance with quick footwork.]
“One of the things that I've seen here is that it's good to know much about the past, because it can affect us in the present.”
Commenting on the performances that depict the persecution of Falun Gong, he said, “I … believe that we should have free speech, and I guess it’s sad when countries don't allow that.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts International Tour.
For more information, please see divineperformingarts.org