VANCOUVER—NDP MP Peter Julian was just one of a number of VIPs who had high praise for the Chinese Spectacular on Saturday evening.
Performed by the New York-based Divine Performing Arts, the Spectacular is currently playing a five-show run at Surrey's Bell Performing Arts Centre, presenting China's traditional culture.
Julian said he found the cultural aspect of the show "very intriguing, I think the production is first grade, very professional, one of the best shows I've seen."
Besides the "age-old" message of the importance of culture, he said the show is a reminder that human rights in China are a concern.
"No doubt the artists are incredibly talented, but it's also the message which I think is extremely important, particularly in light of all the concerns we're hearing about human rights abuses in China," said Julian.
"It's very important that there is an underlying substantial message as well that is extremely important for us to keep in mind and that is we have to be concerned about human rights abuses in China. So it's a wonderful age-old message, perhaps, of substance and culture, but it's also very contemporary. It's a message that people can relate to today."
Julian enjoyed the piece, Drummers of the Tang Court, adding that he's "a big fan of the drumming. My wife likes the dancing particularly, but the singers as well are extremely good, so it is just an incredible remarkable evening."
Last year, said Julian, he cut his vacation short in order to catch the Spectacular when it played at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.
"I told my wife about it, she was very intrigued and wanted to come this year, so I'm glad that she came because she's enjoying it immensely."
Julian added that Chinese culture is "very much part of Canadian culture."
"The Chinese community in Canada has been fundamental to growth and development of Canada, so when we're talking about traditional Chinese culture, we're talking about Canadian culture, an extremely important part of Canadian culture, and that's why I think this is the kind of show that every Canadian should see."
He added that both last year and this year, he was surprised by the high calibre of the performers.
"Last year prior to coming to the Chinese Spectacular I think I had a fairly good idea of the breath and depth of the Chinese culture, but I was pleasantly surprised by the skill of all the artists, and that's really been what surprised me the most, in both this year and last year, is the uniform skills and ability of the artists and performers. It's an excellent production."
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit:
www.BestChineseShows.com.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit:
http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/