Global Gala Delights Berlin

By Martin Croucher/Epoch Times UK Staff
Feb 28, 2007

NTDTV's New Year Spectacular has toured from New York, Paris and now Berlin. It will soon be seen in Chicago.

NTDTV's New Year Spectacular has toured from New York, Paris and now Berlin. It will soon be seen in Chicago.

A globe-trotting dance troupe has brought a very special New Year present to Berlin's Chinese community. On Thursday, New Tang Dynasty's Spectacular left the city a very different place from what it was two days before.

The talented group of martial artists, singers and dancers from New York travelled from Paris to Berlin to complete the second-to-last leg European tour.

The colourful performance depicted divine beings and characters from Chinese myths and legends. The troupe prides itself on reflecting traditional Chinese culture untainted by communism.

"I thought it was very beautiful," said a steward at the performance. "The last time I saw something like this it was very red, very pro-communist. But since I have seen this it is completely different."

Throughout the show athletic male dancers blended seamlessly with graceful divine maidens. Chinese-born spectator Cecilia Svensson, from Sweden, described the performance as astonishing.

"There was such a balance in the show; between female and male, beauty and strength. I've never seen anything like it before."

The show also appeared to be a hit among the local Asian community. "It was great, I feel like it made me proud of my Asian culture," said Jocelyn, a graduate originally from the Phillipines.

"It gave me a sense of belonging." Her friend, Hanh Tuyen Nguyen, said it reminded her of her home in Vietnam.

Birent Dellhass, from Berlin, went to the show with her family. "We didn't know much about Chinese culture, and we didn't plan on coming," she said. "But it was extraordinary and very interesting."