'Chinese Spectacular' Lives Up to Its Name in German Capital
'Chinese Spectacular' Lives Up to Its Name in German Capital
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By Hong Li, Li Xiangqing and Ling Gao
Epoch Times Staff
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Mar 17, 2008 |
BERLIN, Germany—During its 2008 international tour, the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular has been wowing audiences in cities across North America, Asia and Europe.
Although those who watch the Spectacular come from many different cultures and backgrounds, they usually have very similar sentiments toward the show.
Sister Lucilla, a nun who works with mentally handicapped children and children with learning disabilities, attended the final Berlin performance of the Spectacular on Sunday. Her words echo what many others have said about the unique cultural show.
"I enjoyed the show very much," she said. "Fascinating, I'm totally surprised—overwhelming."
In addition to featuring dances from various ethnic cultures from within China as well as from Korea, Mongolia and Tibet, a couple of acts convey Falun Gong's peaceful struggle in the face of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party.
Falun Gong is a practice of meditation and tai-chi like exercises based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance which is currently brutally suppressed by the Chinese regime.
"We didn't know about Falun Gong before the show," said Sister Lucilla. "It is the first time that we had contact with the culture, the dancing and the singing. It is wonderful."
Another nun who accompanied Sister Lucilla, said she was "totally fascinated."
"I believe Falun Gong is a philosophical school where one tries to embody justice and peace," she said, adding that she "enjoyed everything. Each one was even more beautiful than the other one."
She also said she was "fascinated with the background," referring to Divine Performing Arts signature digital backdrops that present a living landscape in which each dance unfolds and translations of Chinese songs are projected.
"I found it good that with the songs the lyrics were translated so one can understand what the meaning is."
Stefan Schmidt, a physiotherapist who also attended Sunday's performance was particularly impressed by the Spectacular's music, which is performed by a live symphony orchestra blending Chinese and western instruments.
"The music is very lovely, it's from heart, very good music," he said, adding that he liked the show and its many theatrical dances.
"The stories are very good, they tell the history."
Schmidt said he felt the Spectacular taught him more about China's history and culture.
"I liked it too," said his wife, Simone. "It was very nice—very nice costumes, very nice dancers. And the dance with cups on the heads was very interesting. The dancers looked very nice."
Simone was referring to the Mongolian Bowl Dance, in which young female dancers whirl across the stage with bowls balanced delicately on their heads. It is not revealed until the end of the dance that the bowls are not attached.
Masako, a retired Japanese woman who attended the previous night's performance, used to work in German theatre with famed America ballet dancer and choreographer John Neumeier.
One of her favorite parts of the Spectacular were the hosts, a Caucasian man speaking Chinese and a Chinese woman who spoke German. The hosts introduced each act in the show, often with comedic routines that played on some element of Chinese culture.
"This is very funny," said Masako. "It is a beautiful idea. I think it is one of the best parts of the show."
She said the show was beautiful and praised the dancers for their dedication.
"They are giving everything on stage…They are very clean. They pass very often so everything is together," she said, referring to the dancers performing tightly choreographed routines that require perfect synchronization.
"Last week we went to [another dance performance] which was not very well done. The group was not together. This was perfect."
The Spectacular finished its Berlin run with long applause and three curtain calls, with some giving a standing ovation. The Spectacular's next stop is Hamburg before continuing on to Stockholm, Sweden.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
