TAINAN, Taiwan—The Divine Performing Arts (DPA) show is an art feast that top-notch artists cannot afford to miss. On the afternoon of Feb. 22, Ma Huimin, Chief of the Datang Folk Dance Company, a famous performing group in Tainan City, Taiwan, brought several dozens dance instructors and students to watch the DPA show.
“DPA has demonstrated to Taiwan’s dancing circle that a gigantic resource is out there for further exploration,” she said.
The Datang Folk Dance Company was established in February, 1993 by a group of outstanding professional dancing instructors in southern Taiwan. With a mission to promote and pass down dancing art, the company has hosted several large-scale dancing tournaments and actively participated in the cultural and art activities of Tainan City.
The company was once invited by the Taiwan Women’s League of Queensland, Australia, to present Chinese dancing performances to foreign Taiwanese in the city of Brisbane. The group has received numerous awards, including the 2001 Outstanding Art Performing Groups of Tainan City. By promoting the beauty of Chinese traditional dancing and blending with the flavor of Taiwan’s local dance, the theater dedicates itself to the revival of the grandiose dancing of the Tang Dynasty.
Ms. Ma has watched the DPA shows for the last three years. She considers viewing the DPA performance as a very important learning opportunity for her. She commented, “Being an artist, you need to know how to move the audience, convey and pass down your ideas, and promote the art and its connotation. To me, this has been an important learning.”
Ms. Ma, who understands Taiwan’s dancing circle very well, expressed that the Taiwan dancing circle still has a lot of room to grow when compared with the DPA performance. She mentioned, “Every factor, such as backdrop design, the coordination between backdrop and dancers, music creation as well costume design and collocation, is part of the art and profession. None in Taiwan can arrange and coordinate all factors so well in a single performance.”
Ms. Ma’s admiration for the DPA was revealed by her facial expressions and intonation after the show. She emphasized, “These are the areas that I wish very much to improve in our artistic presentations. This is why I come to see the DPA performance every year.”
In addition to discovering elements of further exploration for dancing, Ms. Ma said that what really touched her the most was “the meaning of life.” In the three consecutive DPA shows she attended, each touched a different part of her heart.
Referring to the piece “Finding Myself” sung by tenor Yuan Qu, Ms. Ma commented, “We are lost in the worldly matters and run after fame and wealth blindly. We have forgotten what is truly worthy of pursuance in our life. DPA reminds everyone in the world to upgrade oneself and build a clear understanding of what one is seeking. What do you truly want? Have you found it? I think this is very important.”
For more information visit DivinePerformingArts.org
