NEW YORK—The Divine Performing Arts made a successful return to New York, playing a special evening performance at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Aug. 24.
The company, which toured the world in 2007 and 2008, performed 16 shows during the Chinese New Year, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 9, at The Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Sunday show was the first performance in New York City since February, to coincide with the finals of NTDTV’s International Chinese Classical Dance Competition held during the same weekend.
The performance left audience members enthralled.
Kenzy Coulangs, a therapist who came with his two young children, said “It was very wonderful. Very interesting and very educative also. I love it.” His favorite piece was “Risen Lotus Flower,” because “as human beings, we love freedom.”
The performances featured dances and songs based on Chinese classical techniques, a form that many experts in the field consider lost since China’s communist regime took power in 1949.
Many of these performances also portray historical stories and legends from ancient China. Some pieces display the beauty of Chinese landscape and convey traditional Chinese values such as loyalty, honesty, and bravery.
Divine Performing Arts says on its website that it presents “works that center on classical themes and divinely inspired cultural traditions to bring the audience programs of total goodness and beauty.” Its mission is to “create and revive the authentic culture of mankind,” according to a statement on the website.
Divine Performing Arts had earlier played another special show at New Brunswick, New Jersey on August 10 to coincide with NTDTV’s International Vocal Competition.
The company is now in Toronto, Canada, where it will perform at the John Bassett Theatre Aug. 24-28.
