VANCOUVER—As the Chinese Spectacular continues its run at Surrey's Bell Performing Arts Centre, the unique cultural show never fails to delight all who see it.
Native artist Simon James, attended Saturday's show with his wife, Niomi.
"The singers were great," he said. "I loved the tenor, the soprano. I loved the dancing, and the choreography was absolutely amazing."
James, whose wife, Niomi, is from Japan, said he understands "a lot of her culture and she has taught me about Japanese culture I find similarities within my culture as well."
He emphasized the importance of culture, saying it is "always the basis of all society" — something some governments tend to forget.
"As an artist I believe everything started from art. The very first artist created a painting on a wall and somebody sang about it, somebody spoke about it. As an artist I think that was the beginning. You have language, song and dance, eventually you have to have government but the government has to remember that without culture, without art, without dance, there is nothing to govern."
James added that there is much more freedom in Canada than in many other countries.
"We are just fortunate to have a multicultural mixing here. The people who don't have a voice in their countries can have a voice here. And hopefully the people in China, maybe they will hear it."
James has been carving wooden figures since he was 15 years old when he carved a Thunderbird mask for a traditional dance in which he was participating. He's the producer, co-director and co-writer of the award-winning Raven Tales, the animations of which are based on James' carvings.
He was highly impressed by the Spectacular, saying it helped him understand the situation in China regarding traditional culture.
"I think the show is phenomenal. My passion is music so to hear the soprano and the tenor and all the singers tonight is absolutely amazing. It sparked a lot of emotion inside of me, and made me understand a lot abut what is happening in China and maybe some of the culture has to come back."
James also praised the precision and professionalism of the performers.
"From a director's point of view absolutely everything is spot on and I hope that when I direct the live stage show I am as precise as everyone was here tonight."
After traveling to over 60 countries on four continents, the New York-based Divine Performing Arts will wind up the Canadian leg of its 2008 international tour with shows in Calgary from April 30-May 2, and in Edmonton from May 5-7.
Some of the information for this article was provided by NTDTV.
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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