January 14, 2008

OTTAWA--In honour of the year of the Rat, which symbolizes new beginnings and change, the lavish Chinese New Year Spectacular gilded the stage at Ottawa's National Arts centre on Sunday evening.

The show, which aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese art and history, uses large-scale dance dramas that touch on the myths and legends of different ancient dynasties as well as on modern-day tales.

"I'm Chinese I grew up here [in Canada] and I find that as I get older I feel the need to reconnect with a cultural heritage I've long ignored, so for me personally it sparked memories of my few visits to China. I was moved in the sense to appreciate a great long history of my people's culture" said Clement Ng, who attended the show.

Presented by the New York-based Divine Performing Arts Touring Company, the 60 dancers, singers, and musicians who perform in the Spectacular say they want the show to touch people's hearts as well as present an entertaining show that showcases authentic Chinese traditions and culture.

"I thought it was very good, I especially liked the drum performance. I saw that they had a lot of stuff that went a bit deeper than just a basic performance. It all combined to give a very strong impression," said 13-year-old Benjamin Reyes after the show.

Reyes sister, Isobel, said she had seen the show twice and was impressed both times.

"I think it's really good but I have to say that my favourite act was the one with the drumming. This is the second time I've seen the show and it was good both times."

Michael Mittelstaeet attended the show with his wife and children.

"It's very unique and not something that I've ever seen before," said Mittelstaeet. "The reason I'm here is we were planning on going to China this summer so it's kind of our immersion into the Chinese culture."

He felt he had learned about "true Chinese culture, not North Americanized Chinese culture."

Mittelstaeet's 12-year-old son, Wilson, said he thought that the dancers were showing what China was like over the millennia.

"It's very good. I really liked the drumming and chopsticks. They are presenting Chinese history in a deeper way."

This year, the Spectacular will stage 220 shows in 65 cities, reaching a total live audience of about 650,000. The show will return to Canada in the spring to play in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Linh Tong found the show to be "exceptionally good." I was very impressed," he said after the show. "I came with my friend and we are both from Vietnam. We have a similar culture to the Chinese; and we are really proud of the Asian culture. Chinese is really popular and well-known right now."

Tong said the part of the Spectacular that really stood out in his mind was "the spirit of Buddhism" in some of the acts. "We strongly recommend that our friends see the show because it's highly entertaining and a good way to learn about other cultures, especially in Canada, a Western country. We would never see a show like this in our home country," said Tong.

"We have seen a lot of movies and shows in Vietnam about China but this is the first time we felt like we saw the real dances, [heard] real music, and seen real performers from China, so we really liked it."

Source http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-1-14/64019.html