Jan 18, 2009

MONTREAL--Mr. Derkson, who works in a finance department, attended the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) show with his wife to "discover" Chinese culture.

The guiding mission of Divine Performing Arts is to rediscover and renew humanity's true, rightful cultural heritage. The company thus creates and performs works that center upon the true, divinely bestowed culture of humankind, and seeks to provide an experience of consummate beauty and goodness.

"For me, it is even more pertinent, because I am trying to learn about Buddhism. In attending the show, I try to grasp the movements which best express the search for compassion and love for our fellow human beings," Mr. Derkson said during intermission at the Place des Arts in Montreal, Jan. 17.

"To create a work of art, one needs rest, inner peace, in order to be able to put aside our surroundings, our experiences, all the sensations, all thoughts, one needs to eliminate them completely. This is a type of meditation in which one must apply to create a work of art. When one has elevated, when his heart is more pure, he will then create something magnificent, that is for certain," Mr. Derkson shared.

"There is great joy in their [the dancers'] expression, in their movements and there is much positive energy. What I see tonight are all elements which I enjoy greatly."

Indeed, more than just being accomplished artists, members of Divine Performing Arts bring an unusual depth to their work. They take to heart an ancient Chinese belief: that to create true art, there must first be inner beauty.

Many draw personal inspiration from traditional Chinese culture and practices, such as the self-cultivation method of Falun Dafa, and naturally bring a calm expressiveness and depth to their work.

"In comparison with everything that we are familiar with this is fantastic," Mr. Derkson said. "This type of athletic and acrobatic dance [Chinese classical dance], their costumes, the colors ... I was really astonished to see all this."

He said he equally appreciated the format of the show in which the dance, singing and orchestral performances are well accompanied by the hosts, who alternate from French to English, as well as Mandarin.

"I really enjoyed everything they presented ... Because my origins are Russian, the last piece is the one I enjoyed the most, it is really interesting," he said, referring to a dance which evoked Tibetan movements [Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain].

Source: http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/content/view/10538/