NEW YORK—Columbia University College of Education researcher Reem says she enjoyed every performance at the Chinese New Year Splendor .
"I love the show. It's very relaxing. It opens to me a new culture that I wasn't exposed to," she said.
She said she could not pick a favorite performance.
"They're all beautiful. I love the ones with the water—The Nymphs of the Sea—it was so beautiful, and it was so creative in the way they were dressed and the way they made the fans, it was so creative," she said.
She also enjoyed learning about Chinese culture.
"You learn about the folklore. You learn about the history. You learn about classical dancing and instruments," she said.
"The Risen Lotus" left an impression on her. "I loved the one with the three women, and the one that died, how she protected [her friends]," she said.
"And I was happy to see the resistance, and to learn more about the resistance in China. We read about it all the time in the news, but now it's more expressed in an artistic way that is very touching," she said.
She also enjoyed the drums.
"Every one, each one of them is unique by itself. And it's beautiful in all senses, in terms of the music, the costumes, the dancers… they're all like, perfect," she said.
Jana, a Ph.D working at Princeton University, was at the show with Reem. She said Splendor allowed her to see a different China.
"Everything that's usually portrayed about China is a bit harsh. You know, somehow we feel that the Chinese culture is harsh somehow. That the Chinese are very abrupt people, blunt," she said.
"And here we see that they are actually very nice, very different side of it. Very soft, very beautiful—you know what I mean?" she asked.
She said because she comes from the Middle East she could relate to some of the messages in the show.
"It's very beautiful and I love the "Nymphs of the Sea", the drummers - same thing with the three women," she said.
"Actually, every piece of it. As well, the two stringed instrument, I really loved that," she said.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts company. For our complete coverage please visit: http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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