(Clearwisdom.net) The Divine Performing Arts (DPA) International Company played to an audience of nearly 3,000 people at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon on the evening of January 20, 2009. The people in the audience from mainland China gave the show high marks, and many others said that they felt honored to be able to see the show.

Audience at the DPA show in Portland

Ms. Luo came to the United States to study music two years ago. This was the first time that she had seen the DPA show, and she was delighted. Ms. Luo saw many performances in China, and thinks the DPA show is of high caliber. She particularly enjoyed the Tibetan and Yi ethnic dances. She said, "I used to perform the Tibetan dance. I think they (the performers) captured the flavor of the Tibetan dance," she said. "I really want to be one of them, and dance with them."

Ms. Luo came to the United States two years ago to study music

Ms. Luo continued by saying that the piece that moved her the most was "Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution." She said it was a pity that the show which showcases pure authentic Chinese culture could not be put on stage in China. She thought that the DPA should perform in China.

Ms. Luo said that her American friends who came with her and other Western audience members also enjoyed the show very much. She thought that the DPA show should be played in every city in the United States, so as to make Westerners aware that the Chinese arts are superb.

Sophia Hu (right) and her friend Ms. Kemper attend the DPA show in Portland

Sophia Hu came to the United States ten years ago from Wuhan, China. She used to be an interpretor, and now is a tour guide in Portland. She and her friend Ms. Kemper came to the DPA show, and were impressed. She said that the choreography was great and innovative, and the show made her feel homesick.

Ms. Hu heard about the DPA show about one or two years ago, but it was performed in San Francisco. She has been looking forward to the arrival of the DPA in Portland. She and her friend felt very fortunate to have seen the show after learning that the DPA would run eleven shows in San Francisco but only one show in Portland this year.

Ms. Zhang Zhidan, who came to Portland a year ago, and her friend at the DPA show in Portland

Ms. Zhang Zhidan came to Portland a year ago. She said that her favorite piece was the one related to Falun Gong ("Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution"). She said that the program is banned in China, but after all, people here enjoy freedom of belief, so she was able to see it.

She continued by saying that the dancers were very focused, and performed every detail perfectly. The choreography was excellent and thoroughly portrayed the spirit of Falun Gong. She was moved to tears while watching it.

Ms. Zhang believes that Falun Gong is noble, and it enables people to uplift spiritually. It should be promoted so that the whole world can know about it.

During the intermission, Ms. Hall, who has had 20 years of ballet experience, praised the show. She said, "I like the quality, it's very fine and the costumes are exquisite. The colors of the costumes are amazing too." She felt the show was "very aesthetic, very elevated, very spiritual."

Professional photographer Ms. Baker found the show "absolutely gorgeous... beautiful." She said, "I take pictures in my head all the time, and it was wonderful... the dancers were just amazing... it made me want to tour with the company."

When told that the DPA show is not allowed in mainland China, Ms. Baker said that she was not surprised, because the autocratic government only wants to control people's thoughts, and it does not want people to respect ancient traditional culture.

Rodda Collins, an artist, said that she really admired all the different colors adopted in the show, and all the dances were very beautiful. The dancers beautifully expressed the inner meaning that they intended to express using different formations, costumes and movements. She said all this was "exhilarating, fabulous."

Mr. Rowe is in audio system sales. His first response when talking about the DPA Chinese New Year Spectacular was, "It was an excellent show." Mr. Rowe said, "The music's fantastic, very, very good. We were right up front. I liked to listen to the orchestra. It sounds tremendous. The sound of the symphony is perfect! Very, very good! I like the orchestra--the live music. You don't hear that too much anymore, so to hear live music is very good!"

Divine Performing Arts International Company will now head to New York, and join with two other companies, the Divine Performing Arts New York Company and Divine Performing Arts Tour Company, to perform the Chinese New Year Splendor in the New York area during the lunar Chinese New Year.