HAMBURG—"It seemed equally entertaining and energizing," commented Mr. Rainer Schuenemann, CEO of the Hamburg events planning agency Phoenix Kultur Kontor.
He voiced his opinions following the show. "The German language contains an almost forgotten word, Anmut, which translates into graciousness or gentleness, but that is exactly the word at the tip of my tongue when I try to describe this performance."
"It is unbelievably fascinating to see the grace and the Anmut the artists put into their work. Such presentations leave the mundane and everyday events completely in the background. They transport the viewer into a meditative, relaxing serenity -- absent from any boredom. Such serenity, harmony and Anmut are almost overwhelming."
The executive had a thoughtful response to the show. He said he felt as if pulled into another world, "of Chinese culture from 5,000 years ago. It takes at least one or two scenery changes before one is able to follow along; but then it becomes fascinating. One tries to imagine what life was like then, as the performances try to convey it," he said.
"The segments don't present us with a fact-on-fact picture, such as skirmishes or other fights but have been artificially transposed into a higher realm. Actually, the segments represent an estrangement of culture, as it progressed. Let me explain: when the show portrays a battle scene, it does not actually portray a battle but an artistically altered event, according to ancient Chinese culture. It is done well, with great intensity and virtuosity."
Mr. Schuenemann interpreted the scenes of contrast in the show as "arch-typical, basic patterns of life, such as the relationship between God and man, between man and nature, and between man to man."
He said the themes are similar to the ones in Western arts such as opera and ballet, yet the portrayal was completely different and he found the difference fascinating
The most memorable part of the experience for him were the female dancers, "Who seem to float across the stage. One can't even discern their steps. That they have found such graceful movements so when twenty of them all at once do that, it is quite impressive. And as a finale, the drum scene was emotionally fascinating."
Susanne Buhl accompanied Mr. Schuenemann to the event. She follows current developments in China closely and a friend of her's volunteers for Amnesty International.
Ms. Buhl found the performance "elegant; the dances were elegant and looked speedy; the dancers seemed to float instead of walk. The backdrops were colorful, the scenery backdrops representing history - that was grand."
She thought the contemporary topics in the show were important "because this has to do with China now. German politicians and German politics in general look critically at happenings in China. I read many newspapers, and several of them print articles of current happenings in China, and it would be good if people could rediscover this.
"…China's history is much older than our [Western] history. Ms. Buhl said she thought the audience members expected to see topical subjects as well as historic ones. "I think no one was surprised that this was done in this show. It was well integrated."
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit: http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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