The Chinese New Year Spectacular presented by Divine Performing Arts wowed the audience at its opening show at the Hilton Theater in Las Vegas on January 21.
After the show, Robert J. Orfaly and his wife Heather Choueiri Orfaly approached the orchestra and expressed their congratulations to the chief violinist.
"This was a wonderful experience today. We have many people in the U.S. that love and appreciate Chinese culture, so it's really welcomed. And to have this experience today is really wonderful—the music, the choreography, the men, the drums. There's nothing like it," said Robert. Divine Performing Arts has been spearheading a renaissance of Chinese traditional culture that has drawn the attention and admiration of audiences around the world. "The message is poetic, high poetry, and everything that was in this program – in its poetry, in its literature – could be found in any great book in the world. That's how universal the message is."
He added that this message could be found in "the Torah, the Hebrew bible, the Christian bible; it could probably be found in the Koran.
"The truth is what it's all about. The truth is what makes us free people. We never forget the goddess of liberty for what she stood for and it was a great experience to be here with people who have the same idea. We're very happy you brought it to Las Vegas." The Orfaly's were in New York when the Spectacular was presented there, and were disappointed they didn't get a chance to see it because of their busy schedule. But in Las Vegas, they were able to make time to see the show.
"Like the show says, 'we're all connected' and here we are," said Robert.
The Orfaly's are in business together designing artwork and jewelry. Heather was wearing a ruby necklace she designed especially for the Chinese New Year.
"The show is very beautiful," said Heather. "The dance is very elegant, the girls were beautiful, the men were very masculine, the choreography was exquisite — a very nice message in the dance.
"The costumes were beautiful – we loved the elegant costumes. We enjoyed it very much. And it was very interesting, many different ideas. Each piece had a whole story."
Besides being a designer, Heather also practices ballet. From an artist's point of view, she said she appreciated the quality of the dances.
"All of the coordination and the dances were very together. The choreography was very beautiful, expressive of the message that you were trying to say in each piece. It was very easy to follow the explanation in the beginning before each piece, and then the choreography and the facial expression of the dancers — even if you didn't hear the explanation, you got an idea from watching the dance."
The idea of freedom from oppression touched a chord with both husband and wife. Heather said freedom of expression is why she loves her country.
"This is the whole purpose for why the USA became the way it is so that people would not be persecuted for their ideas and for their choice of religion and for their free expression. And so we love to share our country with people who believe in freedom and truth and honesty and caring and compassion." Beyond aesthetic beauty, themes that run through many of the Spectacular's dance and musical pieces include many of the virtues that were lived by in ancient China: courage, loyalty, honesty, filial piety, compassion, faith, and search for spiritual truth. "Forbearance—I remember all this stuff," said Robert. "Artistically, philosophically, we got the message. If people's minds were open they would get it. If not, then not. Music and dance is a wonderful vehicle. It's international. Music is international — no boundaries.
The Orfalys have many friends in San Francisco, and Heather said she would send them a message about the show to let them see it.
"It's really about the truth being free and you brought it here to Las Vegas and you made us feel free. So it's a wonderful thing," Robert added.
The Chinese New Year Splendor continues in New York through Saturday, Feb. 9. For other shows in the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org . The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese New Year Spectacular.
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