BOSTON—Mr. and Mrs. Chin saw the Divine Performing Arts Chinese New Year Spectacular at the Boston Opera House on Jan.10.
Of particular interest to Mrs. Chin, an art teacher, was a dance depicting a young girl’s father being tortured to death for practicing the traditional spiritual discipline Falun Gong. The Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] persecution of Falun Gong is a situation millions in China deal with every day. The dance, Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution, depicts scenes that ultimately unfold presenting a message of hope and speaking of a longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.
“I found that particularly interesting, because when I’m teaching kids, one of the things I hope they come to understand is the way the arts empower communication, and that sometimes you can say things through an art form that you couldn’t say—and not get arrested for—in a piece of writing or political statement,” Ms. Chin said. “So I found it interesting that that was included here.”
One of the aspects that make this show unique is that it is free from communist influence; the goal of Divine Performing Arts is to revive and restore traditional Chinese culture, which was lost under the CCP’s control of China.
Mrs. Chin said she never really understood what Falun Gong was about, but now her curiosity has been piqued.
Her husband, Mr. Chin, a clinical psychologist and former graphic artist, said he was touched by the content of Falun Gong.
“It’s positive. From an artistic perspective … that is the basis of Chinese culture. And to me, that’s great. I think that’s wonderful,” he said. “Artistically, it’s what I would call a vignette of history of China.”
Stretching across diverse communities and regions of China, classical Chinese dance dates back as far as Chinese civilization itself.
Among the orchestral members are internationally acclaimed musicians and composers who have employed present-day Western and ancient Chinese instruments to create uniquely beautiful music.
Mrs. Chin was impressed by the quality of the performance. “The classical style and contemporary—this was a very well done performance. I enjoyed the historical aspects to this. I could imagine taking kids to a show like this and then seeing a summary, or a sweep of history.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts.
For more information, please see DivinePerformingArts.org
