Melbournians have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Divine Performing Arts group for several weeks, ever since the first rave reviews came out of Canada where New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular began its world tour. The long wait finally ended when the curtain was raised at the classic Regent Theatre at today's matinee.
In a cosmopolitan city such as Melbourne, there was always going to be an interesting ethnic mix among the audience. Ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and mainland China came to show, as well as people with Greek, Indian and many eastern European backgrounds. In fact, Melbourne is also noted for having the largest population of Greek people outside of Greece.
The one thing they all had in common on this occasion was a desire to learn more about traditional Chinese culture from the pre-communist era. The Spectacular did not disappoint, with the gorgeously costumed performers reviving myths and legends from many different periods of Chinese history on stage.
Enhanced by evocative Chinese and Western musical selections, as well as stunning backdrops and digital effects never seen before in the Southern Hemisphere, the themes went right back to the "Creation", the first dance, before transporting the audience on a journey through history into the modern era.
Isabel Lau an Australian-Malaysian student from South Oakleigh Secondary College said: "I loved the first dance [Creation]."
The conclusion was a contrast to the opening with a contemporary depiction of the Chinese Communist Party's oppression on spirituality viewed in the dance "Candlelight Vigil".
The dance shows a little orphan girl who lost her parents due to the repression against the spiritual group Falun Gong in China.
In the not-so-distant past, those from Eastern Europe can remember only too well how spirituality was suppressed in the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Immigrants from other countries could also refer to various forms of intolerance in their motherland. Many audience members were able to identify with the victims as they viewed this performance.
Ms Natasha Pregnalato, a hospitality professional, said, "I think the dance is absolutely graceful. Just beautiful...spectacular. Colourful, nice, beautiful. I totally understood the performance about the persecution of Falun Gong. I'm speechless."
Ms Kate Goodman from the state of West Virginia in the US, commented that she heard about Falun Gong before, "I heard a little about it so it was not completely new to me, it was very interesting," she said. "I had heard about the torturing. I am so far away in the States — East Coast West Virginia — we don't always hear a lot. The dance portrayed to me the persecution of Falun Gong."
The NTDTV 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular has extended its global shows to more screenings in New Zealand, Korea and Taiwan with the Divine Performing Arts group, who are the artistic force behind New Tang Dynasty Television's Holiday Wonders and Chinese New Year Spectacular shows each year. Its mission is to rediscover the essence of true, traditional culture and to bring arts to the world that celebrate human dignity and positive values. It produces and performs works that centre on classical themes and divinely-inspired cultural traditions. The group's performances aim to provide an experience of consummate beauty and goodness.
The Australian tour continues in Melbourne and Sydney – see http://shows.ntdtv.com/ for more details.
The Epoch Times is proud to join with New Tang Dynasty TV and Sound of Hope Radio in co-sponsoring NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular
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