(Clearwisdom.net) Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Spectacular captivated Washington at the sold-out show in the John F. Kennedy Center Opera House during its six-day run. Audience members were in awe during the colorful display of Chinese classical dance and music. The performance on Valentine's Day in Washington, D.C. received standing ovations from the pleased crowd.

As a Valentine's Day gift, Mr. Pressley, a computer programmer for the National Weather Service, brought his girlfriend, Ms. Peters, to see the evening performance. "I thought it was awesome, the choreography was really tight, loved the costumes. Even the announcers or the masters of ceremonies were awesome too. What can I say--It was an awesome show," Mr. Pressley said.

Mr. Pressley chose DPA as his valentine gift.

One of his favorite segments was a dance The Udumbara's Bloom. He said the dance was "awesome because the dancers actually did look like flower petals, so I thought that was amazing, what they were able to do with the choreography." He continued, "Excellent use of the screen, excellent use of the technology. I would say it's a must-see. You would have to be there to see it to believe it."

Mr. Pressley said, "I think it was an awesome experience. Definitely a great way to spend Valentine's Day, and I recommend it to every boyfriend out there that's in the doghouse to see it."

Ms. Peters, who works as a chemist for the U.S. Department of Justice, said, "I was thoroughly impressed. I thought it was wonderful, that it was beautiful from every aspect--it was truly performing arts. You had the music, the musical instruments, you had singers, you had dancing. It was wonderful all the way around. It truly brings in all the performing arts--you get every aspect of it. And the culture was the most important. You had the MC's speaking in both Chinese and English, and you had traditional instruments as well as instruments that we're more familiar with in the U.S. So, I think it's a show that is truly well-rounded.

Both Ms. Peters and Mr. Pressley expressed their curiosity about the contemporary scenes from China, particularly the references to Falun Dafa, an ancient meditation and exercise practice that is banned in China. They said they want to look up more information about Falun Dafa as a result of seeing the performance. Ms. Peters said, "It is something to make me research Dafa more because they had the words on the screen as each singer was performing, and the words in the songs actually refer to God, and then they refer to Dafa. So, I thought that was interesting that Dafa isn't just God, so I now want to go learn more about what it is."

Mrs. Strommer, a statistician from Richmond, Virginia, said that she was moved to tears and commented on the beauty of the show and the unique harmony of its dancers. "No one is trying to be a star. They all performed together, and it was a beautiful ensemble," Mrs. Strommer said. "They were all moving for the beauty of the [whole]. It was just wonderful to see that caliber of talent."

Mrs. Strommer, a statistician from Richmond, Virginia

"The way everything was so beautiful, I even started crying," she continued. According to Mrs. Strommer, she was moved from the beginning of the show. It was the synchrony of the dancing and "There was no effort above and beyond. It was so natural--effortless beauty," she said.

Having studied dance, she felt something very deep in classical Chinese dance. Mrs. Strommer explained DPA as being a fulfillment of a cherished concept. "I studied dance and we have a term we call 'organic,' where everything comes from within, from the soul within you," said Mrs. Strommer as she burst into tears. "It is very hard to achieve and I felt very soon a coming from within. Dancing is not just the movements of arms and legs, but ideally it has to come from the spirit within. And that's the way I felt, I felt that way very quickly [after the performance began]. No one person is supposed to stand out as trying to get more attention. No one is trying to achieve beyond the effort of the group, which is humbling--no divas," she said.

Of the singing in the program, Mrs. Strommer said it was "very colorful singing, it was coming from training and talent, it wasn't coming from trying to showoff." She explained that instead of relying on audio amplification for a big effect, the vocalists drew upon the power "right from their mouths." She said Hong Ming, a tenor in the performance, was unbelievable. "I said, 'Where does he get the energy?'"

It was her daughter's birthday on Valentine's Day and so Ms. Etienne, a nurse, thought it was a good idea to treat her daughter Marjorie to see the cultural show at the Kennedy Center.

Ms. Etienne treated her daughter Marjorie to see DPA as a birthday gift

The mother and daughter expressed sentiments that it was not just the visual delights of the dancing, but its meaning and significance in history. "To me, it was a mixture of culture, spirituality, beliefs, hopes, and dreams, and so it was a combination of everything--not only about the Chinese culture but also their beliefs, which was really special." To those sentiments, daughter Marjorie added that the historical side of the dances was also appealing.

"If you really like dance, you're really going to enjoy it, because it is a cultural form of dance that is not only entertaining, but [also] describes a lot of stories that were really interesting and really cool." She especially enjoyed the Mulan story, Mulan Joins the Battle shows the Confucian "duty of service" to one's parents and to the great Emperor. "I am a big fan of Mulan. ... She is a heroine and I just love heroines. They are pretty cool," said Marjorie.

The Tibetan Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain was a big hit with both mother and daughter. It was their favorite. The mother said to her daughter, "Do you remember what I told you? I happen to know somebody who is from Tibet, and so I understand their plight and everything. So I thought that was so fitting, they had a lot of life in their gestures, I could feel it. I thought it was very, very well done."

Sources: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12029/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12012/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12044/