ST. PETERSBURG, Fla—NTDTV's Holiday Wonders finished its run at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg Florida, with another entertaining and enlightening show. Theatergoers marveled at the range of dances, from elegant to acrobatic, the colorful costumes, as well as the cultural information imparted in every act.
Jenniffer Hewitt and her husband, both attorneys in St. Petersburg, brought their adopted Chinese daughters, Halle, 6 ½, and Carlie, 4 ½, to see the show. "It was wonderful, it was breathtaking… we just thought it was fabulous," said Mrs. Hewitt.
"It portrayed China's culture beautifully. Right now I am trying to figure out how to get to New York to see the New Year's Spectacular," she added.
Garet enjoyed the powerful Tang-era drumming. He liked "learning how they live in China, and how it is different from us." Deandre was impressed by the acrobatic dancing. She likes gymnastics and would like to be able to perform some of the moves the dancers performed.
Cindy said that the program did a good job of explaining the background, so she was better able to understand the meanings behind each story. Kam commented that the on-screen translation (used for the vocal numbers) helped also. "They gave us a little perspective on what they (the dancers) were doing and the meaning behind the movements."
Dr. Victor Songbandith, physician from St. Petersburg, found out about the show when his wife picked up a flyer at a local business.
"To see this show, you really have to look carefully and to analyze the message for yourself. That's why I love this show, "he explained.
"I love the drama, especially "The Loyalty of Yue Fei" because it is very uplifting, very dynamic, and wonderfully done. I also liked the "Mongolian Bowl Dance," which shows a different ethnic group in China.
"The most emotional dance was the one about Falun Gong ("The Power of Awareness.") To me it is sad, yet it has a wonderful ending."
Julian Weglarz, an editor for a military newspaper, brought his wife Janet and friends Manuel and Alicia Trinidad. "I was flying to Chicago and I sat next to a lady who gave me a brochure and told me all about the show, and I just wanted to see it."
When asked to pick a favorite, he couldn't. "The entire program was wonderful; the costumes are absolutely beautiful," Julian told an Epoch Times reporter. "I learned a lot about history, too."
Jason and Julie Richarme drove up from Clearwater, Florida to see the show. Julie described the show as, "very elegant, very beautiful, very moving …" Julie said that the messages in the songs and dances came across clearly, in part due to the between-act explanations provided by the host and hostess; she also found reading the program helped.
New Tang Dynasty T.V. and the Divine Performing Arts Company produce The Holiday Wonders . They also produce the Chinese New Year Spectacular, which begins a worldwide tour Jan. 4-6 in Philadelphia. See http://www.bestchineseshows.com for details.
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