CALGARY—The Divine Performing Arts, a U.S. based performance ensemble, returned to Canada to deliver a sparkling production in Calgary, Alberta, on the night of May 14. The audiences of over two thousand people were clearly delighted by the show.
Hosted by New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV), the Divine Performing Arts Global Tour aims to promote traditional Chinese culture worldwide. Starting in Vancouver on January 3, the tour covered 32 major cities throughout the world, returning to Canada with a finale on May 16 in Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta.
"This tour has covered every major city in Canada with a population of over one million," said Dr. Joe Wang, president of NTDTV Canada. "New Tang Dynasty is striving to bridge the cultural differences between East and West, but this is not as simple as merely taking Oriental culture and dropping it in the West, or vice versa. We are looking for the commonalities in both forms."
"The Divine Performing Arts portrays the most fundamental values of humanity—the struggle between good and evil, beauty and ugliness," explained Wang. "This is the bridge we are looking for to cross the cultural, racial, and language barriers."
"I have seen many performances in Calgary, but those usually have just 10 or 20 people in the whole group," said Colin Jackson, president of Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts in Calgary. "I had never seen a performance of such scale before."
Jackson said what moved him the most was the segment titled "Genesis."
"It was the most powerful voice of the night," he said.
After the show, Stranthmore Mayor, Keith Schneider, spoke with great enthusiasm: "Beautiful! It was just so beautiful! I loved everything I saw tonight," exclaimed Mayor Schneider. "The costumes were just gorgeous, the performers were totally fabulous, and the backdrop was grandiose. Just like what your promo material says—this is true Chinese culture."
His wife added her praises: "I really loved it. I was actually crying the whole time. Because everything was so beautiful, it really touches your inner soul. I was moved by every segment in the program, and I had tears in my eyes from the beginning to the end."
Diane Urquart, vice-mayor of Calgary, said that Calgary will always welcome the Divine Performance Arts with open arms after seeing the performance herself.
Urquart also said that "Genesis" left the strongest impression on her, explaining that it gave her the feeling that she had actually witnessed a scene of deities signing oaths and coming to the human world to save sentient beings. She was also touched by the story of a Falun Gong practitioner being persecuted, adding that everyone should be entitled to the freedom of expressing oneself and basic rights. "That is why the performances delivered by the Divine Performance Arts have such profound meaning," said Urguart.
"I had been looking forward to this show for a long time," said Bob Zhu, an ethnic Chinese resident living in Calgary. "I bought 10 tickets and brought family and friends to come see this show." Bob added that he even called a friend who was taking a vacation in Vancouver to tell him to "come back to Calgary right away to catch the show."
"The whole evening was a spectacle of fantastic colors, and it showed the depth and breadth of the Chinese culture," said Alberta MPP, Wydne Cao. After hearing that NTDTV will soon be hosting an international classical Chinese dance competition, he offered his best wishes: "I hope this competition will be a great success!"
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