NEW YORK— "I was very moved. Really, very, very moved. I think each discipline, whether it's music, singing, or dance, each in its own right is moving, but the combination and the way they are combined can bring out greater awareness," said Genevieve Luce, a former fashion worker in New York who currently manages Klavierhaus, a piano dealer. "I was asked earlier, is it sound, shape, or color? I think it's all those things combined that bring enlightenment on different levels."
Luce continued by saying, "You know, maybe it touches the hearts of us that are like the—what do you want to call it—certain things we all know intuitively, and when they combine all those, I think it touches us, it resonates on that level. When your body resonates with the music and the movements and everything, it's beautiful."
Luce saw the February 8 showing of Chinese New Year Splendor at Radio City Music Hall. Presented by Divine Performing Arts, the show displays traditional Chinese culture, weaving together stories and dances through the unique forms of classical Chinese dance. "I liked the 'Nymphs of the Sea.' I thought that was very, very beautiful. Just the way it unfolded. And I very much liked the dance movements as they're more than ballet, the way they float the scarves, and just the fluidity of the motions; all the motions are very fluid," said Luce. "I see where they combine acrobatics, ballet, and traditional Chinese dance—I've never seen anything like it before. It's really, very moving to me on the inside."
The show includes live music played by the Divine Performing Arts Orchestra, which combines both Chinese and Western instruments. A favorite of the show's segments was a solo performance using a two stringed Chinese instrument, the erhu. "I love that. The one young lady and the two stringed instrument that she played. That was just beautiful, the sound of it," Luce said. "The sound is another level … it's like a higher level of awareness when they mix the sounds together—it takes you to another place."
Luce was also taken with the costumes in the different dance performances. "Oh, it's breathtaking, breathtaking. The costumes are just, exquisite; from the color and the feminine energy that I feel flowing throughout the whole show," said Luce. "That was good. There was a very powerful message I felt."
One performance entitled "The Risen Lotus Flower" told a story of those imprisoned for their beliefs in China today. "I don't remember which act it was, but the women were being beaten for their beliefs, and the other woman with the light came, she was like the light that came to the darkness—the darkness is the evil, and the light is the goodness—and so the goodness came to overpower, to bring peace in the situation," said Luce. "So at any given time in history there are hundreds of different wars going on, or torture, and many terrible, terrible things. But it showed that if we practice compassion and tolerance and forbearance, all these things, that we will know peace inside ourselves."
Divine Performing Arts will have had 15 shows in New York when this run ends on February 9, and will then continue its tour of over 65 cites worldwide, stopping next in Europe and Japan. "There are many different dance forms; ballet, flamenco, and I think that in the United States, people, many people, especially in New York are curious about different dance forms and they want to know and experience many different things," said Luce. "So as you see, the audience is like full. What are there, 6,000 seats here or something like that? That's amazing. And each seat is full ... I was surprised to see it."
The Chinese New Year Spectacular continues in New York through Saturday, Feb. 9. at Radio City Music Hall. 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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