(Clearwisdom.net) On the evening of May 16, 2007, at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, the capital of the Province of Alberta, Canada, global tour of the Divine Performance Arts in the first half of 2007 concluded successfully among the warm applause of more than two thousand viewers. The troupe's excellent performance and deep connotations impressed the audience.

Performance of Chinese Culture in the capital of Western culture

Edmonton is known as the "Festival City" and "Sun City" and was awarded in 2007 as the Canadian "Cultural Capital" for its rich cultural environment and tireless promotion of culture and arts. The arrival of the Divine Performing Arts further illuminates the western cultural capital.

Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly, Ken Kowalski, representing the governor, congratulated the two successful shows of the Divine Performing Arts in Calgary. He studied eastern history before and said that the most attractive part of China is its five thousand-year history. He said that Chinese immigrants make contributions to Alberta in art, agriculture, engineering, and medicine. He appreciated New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) for arranging the show.

Invited guests and political leaders gathered in the evening. The start and end of each program won warm applause. The audience of the cultural capital expressed their appreciation and joy toward Chinese traditional culture.

"This is the most beautiful night in my whole life"

Mayor Jeffrey Craddock of Devon especially brought his 88-year-old grandmother-in-law, Ina Stewart, to attend the VIP reception and watch the performance. He said that the whole performance was wonderful and it was hard to tell which the best program was. The performance made him forget worldly life while watching.

He especially mentioned the lead dancer Michelle Ren and said her dancing was full of inspiration and could almost melt you.

His grandmother said, "This is the most beautiful night of my whole life." She told the reporter, "You should bring your grandmother to watch, by all means." She said proudly she could read the characters "Divine Performing Arts" in Chinese and read it to the reporter.

"Each part is specially designed."

Paul Edward-Shand, assistant of Rahim Jaffer, conservative MP from Alberta, attended the VIP reception and watched the performance. Mr. Edward-Shand said, "The performance is wonderful. The costumes are colorful and bright, matching the backdrop. Each part is specially designed. The music was very good. I was impressed with the solo. The pianist cooperated very well with her." Talking about the erhu solo, he said that Qi Xiaochun's performance was superb talent. He learned violin when he was young. He said he would try erhu and it would be fun.

Experiencing the Hope and Harmony of Chinese Culture

Honorable Ken Kowalski, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, said after watching the performance that each player performed very well. The programs he liked most was "Creation" and "A Dunhuang Dream." The programs were colorful, and full of energy and imagination. He emphasized that the lead dancer in "A Dunhuang Dream" was energized and the whole dance was full of myth.

For the connotation of the two programs, he said that people in this world are looking for something and different people would have different understandings of the presentations. He said his understanding was of hope and harmony.

"Buddha is always Compassionate"

Ms. Chris Swaren was a graduate student in Chinese history at the University of Alberta in the 1960s. She is now a minister of the United Church. She and her husband watched the performance. She said that the dancing and music were very nice. She was touched by the compassion and care expressed by the programs, making her deeply respect Chinese traditional culture.

Ms. Swaren said, "I read the information before the performance. My background on Chinese history helped me understand the connotation of the programs. Buddhism and Daoism are everywhere in Chinese history. Compassion and caring for others are universal values."

Talking about the understanding of the whole program, she said knowing, "Buddha is always compassionate" is very important to understand the programs.

"The Stories Make One Think over"

Dancing teacher Lynelle Polowich fully enjoyed the performance, "Wonderful. I wish I could participate in such a performance if I were younger." She was former chair of City Talent Show of EFCL - Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues and has rich experience of stage performance. She highly praised the performance of the troupe, "Excellent costumes, and wonderful dances. (Watching the performance) is enjoyable." Her husband Ralph Polowichyi said he also liked the performance. They said it was hard to see which was the best was.

"It is hard to make a decision. We like each program. Very rich and perfect. The costumes are impressive."

For the message from the performance, the couple had much to say. Ms. Polowich said, "After watching the performance, I have a motivation to investigate many questions. I need to calm down and think it over. I'll look for information about Falun Gong."

Her husband had the same feeling: "I agree with my wife. The performance is different from what we have seen before. The programs make one think. For such a performance, you need to see it several times and understand each detail. I think every time you'll have new understanding."

Ms. Polowich told the reporter that she would tell all her friends and ask them to watch the performance next year. When hearing about the NTDTV International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, she was interested and said she would check the relevant website.

"The programs inspire thinking and touch people's soul"

Jan Selman is Professor and Chair in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta. After watching the performance, she used three "a lot of" to express her feeling and experience, "A lot of enjoyment; a lot of impressions; a lot of experience."

She said, "In general, the performance is a huge celebration and full of great energy and commitment, big pleasure, big scale, and high skills."

Ms. Selman said that she watched many different performances from around the world. From a professional angle, the design and choreography of the show is highly skillful. The director's skill is at a very high level. The music, light, costuming, space usage, entry and exit of the performers, and the integration of the programs are all excellent.

Talking about the program she liked most, she said, "From my direct feeling, I most liked the dancing of the young men's riding horse. It was very clever stage dancing and design - full of energy. The "Mongolian Bowl Dance" was also impressive. One needs high skills to be able to do that."

The program that Ms. Selman was impressed with most was "Returning to the Rightful Place" showing a woman Falun Gong practitioner tortured to death. She said the programs inspiring and soul-touching are "A Dunhuang Dream" and "Reaping what is sown".

She said the program "Reaping What is Sown" would stay long in her memory. She continued, "The program presented the evil people and environment using stage performance. Even with my cultural background, I can deeply feel the evilness. Their skill of expression is very high and impressive, and is understandable among the audience."

Ballet Dancer Praises Chinese Dance

Ballet Dancer Jeniffer Fookes is a professional ballet dancer in the Ponoka dancing troupe. She learned ballet since she was nine-year-old. So far she has been playing for thirteen years. The program she liked most was "Forsythia in Spring." She highly praised the dancing in the "Mongolian Bowl Dance" and "Reaping What is Sown."

Regarding the comparison of Chinese classical dance and ballet, she said that there are many focuses on stage in Chinese classical dance, but only one or two in ballet. She gave an example from "The Loyalty of Yue Fei." She said she understood well that Yue Fei's mother used dancing to tell her son to serve the country loyally and not to worry about her when the country was at war.

"Staying in Illusion and Enjoying the Melody"

Paul Thompson has been to China three times for business. His mother likes Chinese culture. He bought a red Qipao, a Chinese dress, for his mother to wear while watching the show. "The costumes are excellent and the programs are rich and colorful," Paul said. "Each program tells a story. The whole show is very traditional and classical."

Paul said he liked most was Qi Xiaochun's erhu performance: "I listened to the music with eyes closed, like staying in illusion and enjoying the melody of each note."

Paul's mother Marion Thompson said she found that ballet emphasizes the individual and the dancing in the show presented group cooperation.

Native Residents' Acclamation

Richard, a native resident, brought his grandmother Pat Woodman and father-in-law Mr. Giroux to watch the performance. Pat praised the show: "Wonderful. I like the costumes, colors, dancing and songs." She said she would come next year. Mr. Giroux told the reporter that he is an educated person and never heard of Falun Gong. For the first time he heard of Falun Gong from the performance and was touched by the practitioners' suffering. He decided to learn more about Falun Gong.

The 2007 global tour performance of the Divine Performing Arts started January 3 and concluded on May 16 in four continents, America, Europe, Australia and Asia. The tour played 81 shows in 33 cities with each show being successful. Audiences experiencing Chinese traditional culture anticipate next year's performance.