San Diego: A Japanese Family Gives the New Year Spectacular High Marks

By a Clearwisdom reporter

(Clearwisdom.net) The Divine Performing Arts gave four performances of their Chinese New Year Spectacular at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido from January 15 to 17.

The performances received high praise from members of the San Diego-area audience. People interviewed afterwards shared their perceptions and mentioned that they enjoyed learning more about Chinese culture.

A Japanese family residing in San Diego came together to watch the show. When asked how they liked it, Naomi, a member of the family, said with excitement, "It was great. I especially liked the costumes--and the dancing was just incredible. I don't even know how to explain it, it was so wonderful."

She told the reporter about her favorite program: "I did like the men doing the drums, it was just something totally different. Also the ladies with the bowls on their heads--the Mongolian Bowl Dance--that was great, too."

Naomi saw the show two years ago and stated, "Well, they did a lot of things a little different from the last time they were here. Just seeing it from the beginning, it's like 'WOW, this is great, this is going to be a great show,' you know."

The reporter asked Takendo, another family member, how he felt about the show and he replied, "I got a feeling for how different Chinese history and Chinese culture are from Japanese history and culture. It's very, very pretty--the costumes, the dancing, the back screen." He also mentioned that this culture seemed familiar to him, and said, "Very nice, it's great."

Aragon, who retired from the US Navy, and his wife, Cora, attended the show along with their daughter. He was excited about the show and told the reporter, "Oh, very, very good, outstanding, excellent." His wife commented, "Very good, excellent, very entertaining, it's nice." Aragon also stated that he liked all the performances and that he had never seen one like this one before.

When he was asked what he liked best, he said, "Everything, everything!" His wife agreed with him.

The reporter asked the couple whether they understood the meanings behind the stories, and they replied that they understood all of it. They also learned from the stories that, "They are good people," he said, referring to the Falun Gong practitioners.

Aragon told the reporter that he served his country for 30 years, and sailed during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. During his service he was in Hong Kong and is familiar with Chinese culture. He also saw some shows while he was there. He mentioned that there are a many Chinese people in the Philippines, so he had some interactions with them.

He introduced his daughter, Grace Barley, and the reporter asked her about her impression of the show. "Nothing like we have ever seen. We truly enjoyed it."

Grace is a manager of a corporation in San Diego and said that she liked the entire performance. The family found out about the show when they were at a school in Balboa, and someone passed out a flyer. They decided then and there to attend.

She said that she would recommend the show to everyone and she will come again next year and bring some friends. She also mentioned that it is very educational and that she wanted more people to know about it.

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