WASHINGTON—Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Spectacular closed on Feb. 15, after a six-day run at the Kennedy Center Opera House. The audience applauded throughout the performance and honored the New York-based company at the end with a standing ovation and curtain call.
Many at the show had never experienced anything like the DPA show, a rediscovery and renewal of humankind’s true, rightful heritage presented through Chinese classical dance and music.
Among them was a former consultant Mr. Hoteling and his nine-year-old granddaughter, Julia, who was learning tap dancing.
“It was good, I liked it. I liked how they had all those ribbons and how they did different dances with them,” the young dancer said.
Mr. Hoteling agreed. “Very nice show, we loved the show very much. Very descriptive of the culture and ... some things have happened historically—we just liked it very much. We understood the suppression of the people and the rising up of the people up into the culture, and coming into the modern times,” he said.
Story-based dances are one of DPA’s trademarks, inspired by the legends and values of a centuries-old China before its erosion under communism. Ancient legends of heroism and modern day stories of courage are played out in dance, song, and intense drama, while groundbreaking music combines the best of Chinese and Western composition.
“I liked the piece where the mountain falls down and nobody believed the man [Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride].
Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride brings alive the beloved Chinese figure who did good works in unusual, if not down-right crazy-seeming ways. In this vignette, the monk foretells that a landslide is imminent, but local residents attending a wedding do not heed him.
Mr. Hoteling noted that only after the monk’s prophesy comes true, do the villagers believe him.
Turning to his granddaughter, he asked, “Julia, did you like big fans? A ”wonderful dance” used to usher in the spring season [Welcoming Spring].
Julia: “Yes, that was cool how they did all the things with the fans.”
