LONDON—Warm applause greeted the sight of the opening scene, as the curtain rose on Divine Performing Arts (DPA) third night in London’s West End. As the curtain fell on the second curtain call at the end of the show, the full house at the New London Theatre rose to a standing ovation.
The sight of the dancers in The Mystical Phoenix as the curtain rose on the opening performance of the second half, drew a spontaneous audible “Ah” from the audience.
“I love the dancing. I think it’s fabulous,” commented Ms. Selford, a teacher of middle-east dancing, who was inspired by “the costumes the colours and the beauty.
“The acrobatic training is absolutely world-class,” she said.
Classical Chinese dance has its own complete set of training methods in foundational skills, a strict regimen for perfecting bearing and form, and means of training for skill sets such as jumps, turns, and flips, as well as extremely demanding aerial techniques, culminating in an enormous dance system. The aerial movements of classical Chinese dance contain a wealth of high-flying dives, dexterous leaps, and diverse spins.
“I think that the Chinese culture is so wonderful, it’s so deep.”
Ms. Selford teaches all over the world and specialies in Middle Eastern dances, including those of Egypt, Tunisia, and North Africa.
She saw the DPA show last year at the Royal Festival Hall in London and plans to attend next year.
Another member of the audience who intends to return for next year’s show was Mr. Bun, the owner of a catering business, who travelled from Oxford to see the show.
“The music was fabulous and the singers were brilliant,” he said. He singled out the performance Mulan Joins The Battle as his favourite.
Following the performance of the dance entitled Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution, which tells the story of a man persecuted for practising the meditation of Falun Gong, many in the audience could be seen gently wiping tears from their eyes.
DPA is a group of artists inclluding dancers, musicians, and vocalists residing in New York. The group brings principally Chinese together who have the wish to renew and revitalise China’s 5,000-year-old culture that was largely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
DPA performances can still be seen in London, one show on Friday and two on Saturday, all taking place in The New London Theatre in London’s Covent Garden, the city’s theatrical heart. New London Theatre is famous for being the first theatre in London to show Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s biggest success, the musical Cats.
The next opportunity to see China’s tradition unfold on stage in the United Kingdom is April 8 in Scotland in The Edinburgh Playhouse.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun, Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit DivinePerformingArts.org
