Jan 18, 2009
SEATTLE--Arts commissioner Ms. Sambamurti, who attended Divine Performing
Arts Chinese New Year Spectacular at Seattle's Paramount Theatre on
Sunday, was highly impressed by the unique cultural show.
"I really enjoyed this performance and I'm really stunned by the
exceptionally talented artists, musicians choreographers and dancers.
Amazing!" she said.
Ms. Sambamurti is a teacher/lecturer on Indian art and a professionally trained
vocalist and performer of classical Carnatic (southern Indian) music who has
participated in a number of solo and ensemble performances in the U.S.
Northwest, Canada and India.
She has formed bands with musicians in the Seattle area and in Vancouver,
British Columbia, and given performances of popular songs from India. She has
also written, directed and choreographed numerous productions for children based
on the heritage and culture of her native India.
Ms. Sambamurti said that while she has seen many Chinese performances in and
around King County, the DPA production is one-of-a-kind.
"I think this is unique in that the dancers express their emotions so
beautifully through their movements and I was really impressed with the
backdrop, the way it really blended so well with the performance. It made it
appear as if the dancers came from the backdrop and they performed and then
disappeared again into the backdrop. I really liked it."
The DPA orchestra is a "first" with its combination of Western and
Chinese instruments, enabling it to use Western orchestral music as a foundation
and yet to be rich in Chinese qualities, something Ms. Sambamurti appreciated.
"The music was amazing. I think I could see the blend of the Chinese
classical music and Western classical music and the fusion was great. I could
tell. I am an evaluator here, I have been to a lot of performances and the way
that they blended Chinese classical music and Western classical music is
amazing. It's beautiful, the experience is awesome. I have a lack of words to
express my joy."
She was also impressed by the choreography and the costumes, which are all
originally designed and hand made.
"The choreography was amazing the costumes were like 'oh my god.' I was
wondering are they human?. So perfect. ... Each and every piece of the
performance is so apt to the music, nothing was overdone. Everything is
perfect."
She added that the dance, Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution, which
tells of a father persecuted for practicing Falun Gong, a traditional spiritual
practice rooted in ancient Chinese culture that was banned by the Chinese regime
in 1999, was also "not overdone."
"It's done so subtly, it just involves the correct feelings of the
audience members, even the audience members that are not aware of what is
happening there. This piece brought tears to their eyes. I cried, I got tears in
my eyes. We are all born into this free world and we can do what we like and
follow what we want--we have the freedom but life is really short."
Source: http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/content/view/10576/
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Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts
