February 4, 2009

(Clearwisdom.net) DALLAS--The Divine Performing Arts (DPA) played at the Eisemann Center in Dallas on Febrary 3. Mr. Dolt, director of technology for a consulting firm, and his wife were impressed by the overall quality of the show and had never seen anything similar.

Mr. Dolt said the show had "good ... actors, good choreography, good costumes." He especially liked the dance "Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride." "The story was very good," he said.

"Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride" tells a story of one of the most beloved figures from Chinese history. Monk Ji Gong has long been remembered for his unorthodox and seemingly crazy manner of doing good works. In this tale, he saunters into a village wedding scene to warn the inhabitants of an impending rockslide. Though his exhortations are lost upon most of the villagers, one figure is set apart by her gracious response. In a surprising turn of events, Ji Gong comes up with an eccentric solution to the indifference of the imperiled villagers.

"It's spectacular--all the costumes and colors, and the dancers are so light--they are flying in the air," Mrs. Dolt said.

They both singled out the drumming performances as favorites. Mrs. Dolt also mentioned "the flower dance" ("The Udumbara's Bloom"). "They are so light," she said.

"I liked that they have the spiritual message behind every performance," Mrs. Dolt said. "I think it's important not just to do dancing for the sake of dancing, but to have a message behind it. They raise questions, but they don't give answers, and they want us to think about this. ..."

"Overall, they're just trying to show that there have to be more spiritual [values] over material," Mr. Dolt said.

"Especially, now in a time of crisis. Instead of crying, you should believe in something higher to keep your spirit up," his wife added.

The music and the backdrops impressed Mrs. Dolt. The lovely scenes of China made her want to see the country. The digital backdrops, many of which are animated, bring Chinese classical dance into the 21st century. They give a visual depth and grandeur to each scene.

Mr. Dolt said, "You get to know more than you can read in the books because you get perceptions with senses--you get visuals, you get music, you get dance."

The Divine Performing Arts Orchestra begins with a classical Western orchestra as its foundation and augments it with traditional Chinese instruments, enabling its compositions to mine the potential of Western orchestral music and to be rich in Chinese qualities as well.

Source: Epoch Times http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/11467/