Executive Director Says 'Spectacular' is 'Very Impressive'

Michael Leh with his wife Wan-Tin Chen-Lei at the Spectacular in Munich. (Jason Wang/Epoch Times)

Munich , Germany–Michael Leh is the executive director for the Federation of Displaced Persons in Bavaria and member of the Radio Council. During the intermission of the premier of the Chinese Spectacular in Munich at the Prince Regent Theater, The Epoch Times talked with he and his wife, Wan-Tin Chen-Lei, about the impressions they gained from the show.

"I can now say that after the first half, it is really excellent and very impressive. They have beautiful dance scenes," said Mr Leh.

He said he also liked the acts about contemporary China. He said, "I find it especially remarkable that that there are obviously liberal minded Chinese present and who portray such a performance. For me, that is actually something very exceptional."

He said that he mostly enjoyed the 'Mongolian Bowl Dance' with the "beautiful young ladies and gorgeous costumes" and also the drum dance from the Tang Dynasty, "Drummers of the Tang Court."

"I also liked the content that put emphasis on justice and truthfulness. I hope that these values might catch on in Mainland China. This also concerns the scene in the jail in which the persecution of Falun Gong [practitioners] was portrayed [The Risen Lotus Flower]," he said.

Mr. Leh also mentioned that not only practitioners of Falun Gong are being tortured and persecuted in China. "Unfortunately there is a general characteristic of torture in the Chinese government. It is important that this sinks into the consciousness of the people here in Germany," he said.

He said that he once saw the Chinese state circus a few years ago in Munich. "They depicted physical strength and acrobatics which was also a fantastic performance but it was not so much about art and music."

He said that the pressure exerted by the Chinese consulate in attempt to stop the show was reported by the media in Munich and was evaluated accordingly.

"It is an audacity. It is strange on how the Chinese consulate attempted to pressure the organizer here in Germany. It was declined here with good reason and was justifiable and one can only hope that this audacity will fall back on the representatives of the Chinese regime," he said.

His wife, Ms. Wan-Tin Chen-Lei, said that she has watched similar performances in Taiwan.

"What I saw here for the first time was the portrayal of the persecution and that is really unique," she said.

"Overall, I have had a very good impression and I enjoyed the costumes, music and also the Chinese music very much. I also believe that the explanations of the moderators were very important in telling about the differences between the Chinese dancing and [Western] ballet."

"Western people otherwise will hardly be able to recognize the differences. They did not simply portray common Chinese dancing but also different folk groups like the Tibetans or the Mongolians in China. Their clothing, music and culture were well illustrated," she said.

She said she also liked that the lyrics and translations of the songs were depicted on the backdrop screen.

"The lyrics have a strong spiritual character and yet everyone can take something away from it and that I find very good. The vocal artists sang very well and then there were added lyrics, which was truly impressive," she said.

For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.