KANSAS CITY, Missouri—The Carlson Center's Yardley Hall hosted the opening night for the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular in Kansas City. Although the Divine Performing Arts has been touring for years, this is the city's first chance to host the show that is at forefront of the Chinese cultural renaissance.
Jeremy Nesbitt attended the festive evening with Broolee Viola who bought a ticket for him in honor of his birthday. Jeremy saw an advertisement for the show in the local entertainment newspaper.
Jeremy was delighted with the show and shared his favorite parts right away. "It is amazing," he said, "My favorite is the attire everyone is wearing, the costumes are really amazing. The drum line was one of my favorite scenes."
The 'Drummers of the Tang Court' is a number inspired by the 'most prosperous and celebrated periods on China's history' the Tang Dynasty. Described in the program as "athletic" and "vigorous," drummers weave in and out of formations on stage.
Jeremy is a drummer and keyboardist in a rock band. His experience as a musician added to his understanding of the drumming in the Spectacular by enabling him to compare musical lineages.
"This is a lot more deep-rooted, traditional music. What makes it different from the music I play is the tradition. The background is different so it has a different sound."
"I really enjoyed it," Viola said "because obviously it comes from a very ancient history and it has a very spiritual aspect that's really beautiful. Their movements are very gracious. It's beautiful, the ritual [of the dance]. The dancing definitely looks very challenging, like Jeremy said. It's very conceptual."
"I dance for fun," she laughed, "But not like them and not in front of people.
"The colors and the costumes are very inspiring," Viola added, "Very vibrant, I love all the colors."
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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