(Clearwisdom.net) The first three performances by Divine Performing Arts (DPA) in Washington, DC were at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on February 11, 12, and 13. The DPA Chinese New Year Spectacular is a grand production of classical Chinese performing arts and 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. It brings to life in classical Chinese dance, song, and music, a portrayal of ancient legends of heroism, and modern-day stories of courage. Its choreography and graceful routines range from grand processions to ethnic folk dances, with exquisitely costumed dancers moving in perfect synchronization.

According to the DPA website, the dance company has set out to "breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing audiences everywhere with an experience of sublime beauty." Audience members in the nation's capital gave DPA standing ovations to express their appreciation. Some of those audience members stopped to speak to a reporter to give their impressions of the performance.

"It was Beauty for the Eyes, Beauty for the Brain, and Beauty for the Heart!"

Dr. Nguyen is a dean at a Washington, DC university. This is the second year he has attended a DPA show. He attended the performance with his wife, Mrs. Nguyen, an administrator in a U.S. government agency.

Dr. Nguyen said, "This is the second time I have seen the Chinese New Year Spectacular. The first time was two years ago. The show is beautiful and a high [class] performance--excellent! The technicality, the choreography, and the details are high-class. I think the technical aspect of the performance was excellent."

Mrs. Nguyen, who has a background in fashion and dance, was just as impressed by various aspects of the performance and added, "Not only with pictures, with costumes, and with scenery, but also with words and messages that came across very clearly. On what the [DPA] organization is trying to convey, it was beauty for the eyes, beauty for the brain, and beauty for the heart!... The show is very professionally done, with the dancing, the choreography. The costumes are beautiful. It stayed very traditional with the costumes and the message. It was all very inspiring."

She went on to say, "I am walking away very inspired and full of optimism, and [I] admire the messages behind the performances--the messages of compassion, of working together, of overcoming war and differences. As long as they keep playing the messages to a big audience around the world, little by little the message will get through... We have a saying in our culture: 'Even a big rock can melt from dripping water.' So slowly the message will get through. I wish them continued success."

Audio Production Student: "It was Lovely!"

Mr. Smith and Ms. Littlejohn attended the show. Mr. Smith is a media arts and animation student at an art institute. He was greatly impressed by the production: "This is the first time I've ever seen this type of production... When they move with so much expression--even though you don't hear any words coming out or any sounds--it's just the expression of their body language that they give you. And so you can understand what's going on in the story."

Ms. Littlejohn is an audio production student at a Washington DC university; she is also a classically trained trumpet player. She said she was interested in "anything that has to do with classical music." She admired "the unison between dance and motion with sound." And more specifically, she said she noticed how the performers were "on cue at every point--[between] the dancers and the orchestra." She kept nudging her friend (Smith) saying, "They are on cue! They are on cue!"

"It was lovely! So, I hope to do something like this in the future, maybe do some composition myself. It felt good to be around it. It really did," she said.

Mr. Savage, vice president for a U.S. company based in Europe

Mr. Savage is vice president for a U.S. company based in Europe. "I think it's very interesting to see how they managed to merge some of the more Chinese historical norms and also the Western historical norms, to present something that's entertainment as well." He was impressed that the DPA performers achieved this primarily through dance and music.

Mr. Savage also appreciated how Chinese traditional culture was presented to suit European or American audiences, and that it was easily understood. He works globally in human resources for a company that deals in medical technology. The company has large businesses in China, Japan, the United States, and Europe. "So being culturally sensitive is a critical part of my job [in order] to make sure that we manage people in an appropriate and an effective way."

Mr. and Mrs. Brown attended a VIP reception that followed the performance. Mr. Brown is the manager of an auction house for fine arts and antiques. Mrs. Brown stays at home to raise their three children. She said that she has gone to a Chinese or Korean performance every year since she was a child, yet the DPA show stood out above the rest for her. "It was absolutely amazing! It was the best Chinese show I've ever seen, and I've seen them every year since I was three!"

Mr. and Mrs. Brown

Mrs. Brown said, "It had different parts of China represented instead of just one. And it had a wide array of stuff. It wasn't just dancing; we got the singing and the drama. It was a very comprehensive exposition of Chinese culture, and not just Chinese folklore, but spiritual culture too. I was really impressed by the spiritual aspect, how they represented [it], how they care about compassion and finding the way, and all of the spiritual things. And seeing the Buddhas on stage, that was really cool."

Mrs. Brown went on to explain other ways this show was different, "Usually I go and see a dance show, and a school of girls dance, and there are not a lot of guys. So it was impressive to see so many male dancers and instruments like the drums. Usually, there aren't instrumental pieces in the shows I've seen in the past; so it was just so much more than what I'm used to seeing."

She added that the traditions of Chinese classical dance are starkly different from those of modern dance, even in the Asian community. "I took modern Japanese dance in college. And yes, just like any modern art, it's very, very different. And they strip it of all the really outlandishly beautiful stuff, like the gold and the emotions--there's no emotion... This is very emotional. I cried during the communist one." (She referred to a piece that told of a man persecuted to death for practicing Falun Dafa, a Chinese meditation practice that is currently persecuted in China by the communist regime.)

"They have the brutality of the communists well represented," added Mr. Brown. He said his family escaped from Cuba and the Castro regime.

Mrs. Brown continued, "I was weeping all over the place. I have a family of my own, and to see the family split apart like that ... My own mother is from North Korea, so her own family was split apart."

The DPA dancers are accompanied by the world's first major orchestra to combine both Western and Chinese instruments. Mrs. Brown said that, in all the shows she's seen, this was the first time she'd ever come across such music. "I've seen Western orchestral or Chinese music recorded, and it's just played in the background. They'll use traditional songs that I grew up hearing from my mom. So they'll use songs that we all know, and they'll dance to it. So it's like hearing Swan Lake and seeing the ballet. You already know the music; so you're just seeing somebody's interpretation of the dance that goes along with the music. But this music is all original, and I think that's really amazing too."

It was the first time Mr. Brown had seen a Chinese dance performance. He said that before seeing the show, he knew very little about Chinese culture. Yet he had a deep interest in Eastern culture and had taken a trip to Japan when he was in high school. He conveyed that DPA opened his eyes to the depths of Chinese culture. "I went over to Japan and figured all the cultures were pretty much the same--but that was not the case, and that really came out in the show. The Mongolians and the other cultures from around China that were represented--I've never realized the diversity of China."

"I loved it! I will definitely be back next year," said Mrs. Brown.

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/11952/

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