The mid-Autumn Festival, a popular Asian celebration of family togetherness and abundance, will be commemorated in Toronto on September 27 and 28 with a lavish Chinese performing arts show.
Playing at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the Divine Performing Arts 2007 Mid-Autumn Festival will feature traditional Chinese music and dance, conveying the depth of China's 5000-year old culture and history. Tia Zhang, the chief dance instructor for the show, is looking forward to performing in Toronto, which she calls her second home. Zhang immigrated to Canada from China and lived in Toronto for more than 30 years. She says she has strong emotional ties with the city and is looking forward to returning.
"It was in this city where my artistic level was heightened, it was in this city where I first assembled the Lotus Arts Performing Group, and it was in this city where I found the true meaning to life and became a Falun Gong cultivator who believes in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," says Zhang.
Also called the Moon Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most important festival in the Chinese Lunar Calendar after the Chinese New Year, and is a national holiday in several countries.
Zhang, who now lives in upstate New York, says the Divine Performance Arts' mission is to convey the breadth and depth of the true Chinese culture, and to promote the traditional belief of "respecting gods and observing moral ethics."
"I shall put the essence of my lifetime artistic achievements into this performance," she says. "Presenting the purest of human goodness, light, and beauty in traditional Chinese culture will be my sincerest wish for this autumn moon celebration and one way to give back to the city and my kin."
Zhang enrolled in the Beijing School of Dance in 1954. After undergoing rigorous training in both Chinese classical dance and ballet, she decided to pursue a career in ballet. She was among the first batch of Chinese ballet dancers professionally trained by Soviet ballet experts. After graduating, she remained at the school as a teacher for the next 20 years, during which time she trained numerous highly-acclaimed ballet dancers.
Following her mission to promote traditional Chinese culture and to "give back to the society," Zhang assembled the Lotus Arts Performance Group in Toronto in 2002, which teaches traditional Chinese dance and also provides community services. The group was awarded the title of "Volunteer Worker of the Year" by the City of Toronto in 2002.
Zhang says the members of the Divine Performing Arts troupe are some of the most highly regarded in the world. For example, Cheng Rutang, the conductor for the show's orchestra, was formerly the leader of the China Central Philharmonic Orchestra. Others include Guan Guimin, the acclaimed singer, and Michelle Ren, who recently won the New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese Classical Dance Competition.
Zhang says Divine Performing Arts strives to portray the "goodness and the light" in human nature.
"The line between good and evil is extremely clear. We will never portray violence, sex, darkness, and the distorted sense of beauty in many modern arts."
During the Christmas holiday season of 2006, Divine Performing Arts staged nine performances of its "Holiday Wonders" show on Broadway in New York. NTDTV's New Year Spectacular World Tour began that January. The tour delivered 81 performances to 33 major cities across four continents in just over four months, attracting an audience totaling 200,000.
Divine Performing Arts received a warm welcome at every destination, says Zhang, and the show garnered much praise from local authorities and dignitaries wherever it played. During the month of February the ensemble received over 400 messages from high-profile people throughout the world, congratulating the group on its success
"The growth of worldwide recognition over the span of one year was staggering," said Zhang. "The group has had a great impact throughout the world. Most places have invited Divine Performing Arts to return after seeing the performances. Many in the audience were so deeply touched, they cried during the show."
To meet audience demand a second dance troupe, Touring Group Two, was assembled, and it is this group that will perform at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The troupe has gone through "rigorous professional training" which combines classical Chinese dance with basic ballet training.
Zhang professes in-depth knowledge of traditional Chinese dances, ethnic dances, and royal court dances. She also composes new dances, and her forte is in composing dances which reflect the Chinese culture during different historical periods. "My whole life is about pursuing elevation in arts," she says.
High caliber performances from all involved in Divine Performing Arts will bring Toronto a world class show, says Zhang.
"I am very excited to come back to Toronto to meet friends and relatives for this mid-Autumn festival. Divine Performing Arts will present a show which they will remember for the rest of their lives."
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