MELBOURNE,Australia—When Una Lutthi and Mary Pegenn from Melbourne saw the Chinese Spectacular on the show's second day screening, they were "nicely surprised."
For Mrs. Pegenn, a medical practice manager, the erhu [Chinese violin] stood out the most. She especially related to the sounds of this 2-string instrument as it reflected her love for Irish Celtic music.
"I'm Irish born and into Celtic music, and that's what it had for me."
She said it was really emotional and nothing like what she heard in China. Mrs. Pegenn travelled to the northern part of China over a year ago where she taught English.
For her friend and neighbour, Mrs. Lutthi of Italian background, it was the reflection of China's modern history in the show that triggered an emotional response.
"Because all the dances come from the history ... first about the communism ... it really touched me. Because in my country [we had] a bit of bad times," she said, referring to Italy's fascist rule under General Mussolini.
Mrs. Pegen also believed that the entertainment industry is a good platform for education. Showing the modern injustices in China, such as the persecution of Falun Gong, which was reflected in a number of performances, is important she said.
"Different people get different things from entertainment. But you learn a bit about the country, helps you understand more about the people is good. I feel more education helps the environment."
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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