HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—Bonita Jones, a Huntsville local, bought tickets to the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular . The artists, on their final leg of a world tour that took them to the four corners of world amazed the Huntsville audience that had come to the Von Braun Center.
"It's pretty good. I liked the drumming ["Drummers of the Tang Court" and "Victory Drums"]. Also, the costumes are pretty cool. The water fans ['Nymphs of the Sea] scene looked neat," said Jones.
When asked if she realized that the show brought true traditional Chinese culture to Huntsville for the first time, she said, "I did not pay too much attention, I guess."
Rita Monteiro from India, a freelance writer and former English literature teacher, who lives in Madison, a suburb of Huntsville, joined into the conversation. She said, "I've been living in Madison for the last nine years. We love Madison because they welcome this kind of event."
She felt, as a native of India, she could more easily understand the deeper meanings the show wanted to impart.
"Oh its excellent. I think everything is very good, including the deeper messages, as well as the more colorful aspects. The deeper messages were provided so well. What should I say, because the imagery behind, the effect of music and rhythm and dance, it becomes an excellent syntheses of a very deep religious culture. You know, I'm from India, so I can see the whole depth of meaning," said Monteiro.
The scene that depicts present day China is one of the scenes that appealed to Monteiro. She said, "Also that link with Falun Gong, you know the universal search of a human being for freedom and for liberty, was well done."
She shared that she was a history buff, with particularly interest in Chinese culture. She was especially interested in the show, "because of the very long history of relationships between India and China, going back to the 5th century BC. Also, the link with the present" brings value to the audience.
"Because that deep sense of it was what I really liked. It was that fact that you have to be truthful from deep inside -- this is what made the show really contemporary," said Monteiro.
Carmen, a nurses' assistant was also quite impressed with the show.
"Beautiful, I've never been to one [a show that brought traditional Chinese culture to the West] before. And that lady singer -- what a voice! The first two scenes {"Descent of the Celestial Kings" and the Soprano Solo by Jiang Min) and the lady that sung were my favorites. I liked the one with the King in the first scene, that was gorgeous," said Carmen.
"So unique, all together, I'm really enjoying it," she said before moving on.
Nancy Shea and Tom Shea, her husband, a helicopter pilot, were also in the audience.
"My husband said he loved the drums ["Drummers of the Tang Court" and "Victory Drums"]. Yeah, he loved the drums since he was a little kid. I'm from Huntsville, well, we just moved here from Idaho. We saw the advertisement during a shopping spree last weekend. Some ladies were handing out flyers. I said we've got to go and see that, because just the colors, the costumes, I had to see that and here we are. They all looked so beautiful, the ladies, the girls," said Nancy.
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