MONTREAL—On Saturday, Canada’s city of the arts, Montreal welcomed the second sold-out show by Divine Performing Arts (DPA) , a New York-based dance company that is committed to reviving traditional Chinese performing arts.
“The dances were superb. The colours of the costumes were wonderful. Wearing such beautiful outfits makes one feel as if she is in heaven,” said Ms. Shangwan Liu, a Chinese biology student at McGill University, speaking in Mandarin.
“I felt it was very beautiful. The performances were fantastic and divine,” she added.
“I have never seen such performances in mainland China. There I can only see dancing, but I never felt anything special. But today’s dancing is very special. They displayed China’s history, culture, and arts. It was spectacular, and those movements cannot be seen in Western dances.”
The dancing of DPA is based on Chinese classical dance and includes as well some of China’s numerous ethnic and folk dances. Apart from going through intensive professional training to master the dance techniques, the dancers also need to understand, and imbue their dances with, deeper resonances of traditional Chinese culture. As a result, they are able to bring the goodness and beauty of Chinese culture to life on stage, and let audience of different ethnic backgrounds see the true spirit of Chinese culture.
Ms. Liu said she loved the performance’s three-dimensional backdrop and the live orchestra.
“Due to the limitation of the stage, it is impossible to present the gods flying to Heaven without the backdrop. I also love the live orchestra. There are eastern and western musical instruments combined together. The most touching program was ‘Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution,’ in which a family of three was beaten by three evil policemen. It was very real, making me want to cry.”
The dance Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution showed that oppression is a painful reality for many millions of persons in China today, as witnessed by an innocent family whose father is persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional spiritual discipline. This is the human face of the countless tragic, broken lives in China that we seldom hear about. The fantastic scenes that ultimately unfold in this piece present a message of hope and reflect the long-lasting Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.
Ms. Liu said emotionally: “From the show of Devine Performing Arts, I saw Chinese tradition and culture. I think these traditions and culture must be passed down.”
“It would be excellent if my parents could watch this. I just wonder if my relatives in mainland China can see the show. I hope that my relatives in China and all Chinese people can see this show.”
“The performance schedule tells me that they were in Ottawa, Toronto, and other cities for the last few weeks, working very hard, not taking a break even during the New Year holiday,” she added.
In the end, she expressed her special thanks to the artists.
Divine Performing Arts will stage its last show in Montreal on Sunday before moving on to New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall.
For more information, please visit www.divineperformingarts.org
