December 20, 2007

A show called "Holiday Wonders" celebrates the Christmas season, but with a nod to the East. The show incorporates elements of Chinese music, theater and dance that go back thousands of years. It honors China's performing arts traditions that have been suppressed since the country came under communist rule in 1949.

"It's become an annual (event) ... because of the popularity it's received," says Ying Chen, the show's general manager. "It's very different from most of the shows that you see here (in the United States). They (the dance vignettes) convey positive messages, and messages of hope and insight. They are meant to be an uplifting experience for people of all ages."

"Holiday Wonders" appears Friday, Dec. 28, to Sunday, Dec. 30, at Caesars Atlantic City. The roughly two-hour show premiered in December 2006 at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. Divine Performing Arts, a production company, also will back a touring production of the show, with bookings in Baltimore, Charlotte and Greensboro in North Carolina, and Miami and Tampa in Florida.

"Holiday Wonders" features approximately 20 different performances, each including separate choreography, music, animation, scenery, costumes and lighting.

A fast pace highlights some of the dance vignettes; others move at slower cadences. The Atlantic City dates will feature a company of 55 to 60 performers, the bulk of whom are dancers. The company also includes singers and musicians.

"What we ultimately want," Chen says, "is when you have all the elements come together and just bring people into a different world with each of our performances. It's a huge production. It represents stories from different dynasties in China and different ethnic regions of China. They have such a wide variety. The costumes are dazzling."

She adds, "A lot of people tell us that you can't even see this type of show in China. And that's very true, because China has been governed by a communist regime for the last several decades. After the communists got in there, they wanted to disconnect people from the roots of their traditional culture, so that they could introduce or import a whole communist idea there in China - despite (the country's) 5,000-year history."

Chen, 39, grew up in China, and moved to Philadelphia to study music at Temple University. She later transferred to Trenton State University (now the College of New Jersey) in Ewing in Essex County, where she earned an economics degree. Chen's father, Rutang Chen, serves as conductor of the Divine Performing Arts Orchestra, which accompanies many of the productions; Chen's mother, Ningfang Chen, serves as the orchestra's principal flutist and manager.

Divine Performing Arts is a nonprofit arts organization in upstate New York.

The company's inaugural production, "The Chinese New Year Global Gala," premiered in January 2004 in Manhattan. Since then, the show has toured in the United States, Europe and Asia. It was booked at Madison Square Garden in 2005 before it moved to Radio City Music Hall last year.

Holiday Wonders

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29, and Sunday, Dec. 30

WHERE: Circus Maximus Theater, Caesars Atlantic City

HOW MUCH: Tickets, priced at $60, $90 and $120, are available at Caesars box office or Ticketmaster at 800-736-1420 or www.ticketmaster.com.

WEB SITE: www.divineperformingarts.org

Source http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/ats/entertainment/story/7523709p-7424405c.html