MINNEAPOLIS—There were nothing but pleased responses from audience members leaving the Northrop Memorial Auditorium last night after the Divine Performing Arts Chinese New Year Spectacular.
Mary Montagne, an usher at the auditorium, saw the Spectacular on the schedule and decided to come and see it.
"I thought it was charming and beautiful," she said. "The costumes were great. It was very nice, I liked it."
Medical technician Cheeon Park said the show reminded him of traditional Korean culture "but a little different."
"It was very great," he said.
Park said he heard about the Spectacular through friends who own a restaurant. They bought him the tickets.
"I didn't know about it," said Park, but added that he would now recommend the show to others.
For Jelena Maksimovic and her friend Boris Sekulic, the Spectacular was a chance to experience something new.
"It was very wonderful, because we belong to another nationality, we are Serbs, so it was very nice to see another culture," said Maksimovic.
"I was impressed."
Maksimovic said she knew a little bit about Chinese culture before the show but not very much.
"The girl who played the piano, she was wonderful, I liked her very much."
Homemaker Alyson Milles brought her daughter Abigail to see the Spectacular.
"I really enjoyed the costumes and the flow of it," said Milles.
Milles said this was her first time to see something of traditional Chinese culture.
"I usually see classical ballet. You can see the classical ballet tendencies of their movements but with a flow that I have never seen before and I really enjoyed that."
Milles also commented on the spiritual nature to many of the performances.
"From beginning to end it had song that produced its own spiritual aspect, as well as what it stands for."
"[The Spectacular ] wants you to redefine that for yourself, and remind yourself why you have a faith and why it is that you care for what you believe. It kind of helped me redefine that for myself."
The show draws heavily on the virtues of traditional Chinese culture including truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, which Milles found worth contemplating.
"It made me think again what it is that I believe in that would make me want to hold those three things true."
After Minnesota the show will continue its global tour of North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania including an 11-day run at the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York. By the end, the Spectacular will have played to a total live audience of around 650,000 in over 60 cities and 14 countries.
The Chinese New Year Spectacular will also be at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago for three performances on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 along with four performances at San Francisco's Orpheum Theater, at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 25-26.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Divine Performing Arts performances. For dates and times of their world tour visit: http://www.divineperformingarts.com/sy/ticket_info.
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