Playing at Toronto's Sony Centre for the performing Arts since Friday, the Chinese New Year Spectacular continues to receive rave reviews from satisfied audience members who are thrilled with its presentation of authentic Chinese culture.
"It's a wonderful show, we're just absolutely delighted," said Ken Coates, Dean of Arts at the University of Waterloo, who attended the show with his wife, Carin Holroyd, and their children Hana and Marlon.
"The show is just magnificent. It's always so wonderful to actually see a community coming together to share their history and their heritage. There's so much pride in the room." Coates added that he particularly liked the acts that "have a really deep history… the dramas were absolutely magnificent. It's just a beautiful concert, absolutely wonderful."
"I have my daughter and my son. They're both having an absolutely wonderful time. It's such a delight for them to see such a large range of activities and they're both enjoying it tremendously," said Coates.
The New York-based Divine Performing Arts, the company that presents the Spectacular shows, says that in its productions it strives to revive the authentic traditional arts and culture of China in which moral values and spiritual pursuits are highly emphasized.
Beyond aesthetic beauty, themes that run through many of the shows' dance and musical pieces include courage, loyalty, honesty, filial piety, compassion, faith, and search for spiritual truth.
"It is really nice to be able to see cultural shows like this," said Maggie Blood, adding that the opera singers "really resonated" with her.
"They were breathtaking to listen to – totally amazing!" Mary Sefarian, who has traveled in China and Japan, said she enjoys Asian performances and culture, and the Spectacular impressed her with its authenticity.
"It was fantastic, I loved it."
In bringing to life the myths and legends of ancient China, along with stories from contemporary times, the creators of the Spectacular are skilled and creative in the use of state-of-the art technology. One example is the dramatic dynamic scenery and multilingual lyrics projected on the background screen.
Following the five shows taking place this weekend at the Sony Centre in Toronto, the Spectacular will continue its world tour to visit the U.S., Japan, Korea, Paris, Singapore, and Australia. It returns to Canada in the spring and will play in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton from April 27 to May 7.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.
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