CHICAGO—City and state elected officials, businessmen, and esteemed artists came together Saturday afternoon for a reception preceding the performance of the Chinese New Year Spectacular at Arie Crown Theater. The reception featured a series of remarks by distinguished guests.
State Representative Robert Pritchard traveled 60 miles to attend the show. In remarks to the crowd, he noted that he shares with the Spectacular the need to support the best values of humanity: "benevolence, wisdom, faithfulness, and the honoring of one's ancestors." He said, "This performance helps to preserve 5,000 years of artistic expression and Chinese culture."
The star tenor and Assistant Company Manager of the DPA, Guimin Guan, spoke about some of what makes the Divine Performing Arts company and the Spectacular unique. The DPA performs only original compositions, and is the largest performing arts company outside of China with over 300 performers—a number that can't even be held by New York's famous Radio City Music Hall. Mr. Guan said that the DPA's aim was to to recover what the CCP has destroyed and reclaim the culture of China and the best of China's history.
The Deputy Director General of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Chicago, Po-shing Wang, said, "The Spectacular is truly remarkable! And, this is only possible because of the organizer's determination and dedication to the universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights."
Dr. Sen Yang, the President of the Mid-USA Falun Dafa Association, which is helping to host the Spectacular in Chicago, remarked that, in the past the virtues of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance formed the basis for China's ancient civilization. Dr. Yang explained that the Communist Party has set out to destroy these principles. The effect of the loss of traditional morality in China can be seen in the pursuit of profit above all else, which has resulted in the production of poor quality and poisonous products in China.
State Representative Patty Bellock spoke of how much she hoped to learn from attending the Spectacular. She said, "Through shows like the Chinese New Year Spectacular we are able to open up a whole new world of knowledge and aspects of Chinese history and culture that we as Americans may not have been aware of."
Warren Tai, the President of the International Bank in Chicago, also spoke about the importance of restoring traditional. He noted that we live in a time when children spend their time with the computer rather than the family and the husband and wife communicate by email. He said, "We are fortunate to have the Divine Performing Arts to help restore Chinese culture and family values."
The host for the reception, Dr. Bing Xu, noted how many proclamations and greeting letters had been given to the Spectacular by Illinois politicians, including Governor Blagojevich, Senator Durbin, and members of Congress Melissa Bean, Phil Hare, Jesse L. Jackson, Peter J. Roskam, Jerry Weller.
A proclamation issued by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the Chicago City Council stated in part that "the core values of Chinese culture: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness have been discarded in China's Cultural Revolution" and that "the Spectacular, entitled "Myths and Legends", presents genuine Chinese culture without Communist Party culture", and "showcases a renaissance and reclamation of the long-lost treasures of China."
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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