By a Clearwisdom reporter

(Clearwisdom.net) Following the Chinese New Year Spectacular show in Montreal, Susan, a baker by profession who is also a writer and an entrepreneur, had a lot of thoughts she was eager to share with a reporter. Her husband is French and they are well integrated with the French culture in Montreal.

Susan mentioned at the outset that she knew the show was supported by Falun Gong and this was one of the reasons she had come. She said that she had really enjoyed the Spectacular and was totally amazed and touched by the message. In her opinion, the message of the show was based on what she called the universal truths of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," the message of Falun Gong. Susan recommended that we should all integrate these practices into our lives, and talked about the importance of being more patient and loving in the face of everyday life. She feels that the message doesn't clash with other truths and it integrates very well with our culture.

When asked which part of the show she liked the best, Susan had a hard time deciding because she liked all of it, but finally settled on "Water Sleeves" as her favorite piece: "Because water makes me feel very emotional. It was so graceful and so well choreographed. It was touching." She continued, "I was really impressed by the instruments, especially when the person was playing the Chinese instrument (Erhu) ... I couldn't believe how versatile that instrument was. It mimics a lot of other instruments. She brought a lot out of it. It's a peaceful sound, even though it came across very strongly, it still sounded very calm."

Susan also liked the different dramatic pieces. She enjoyed the elaborate backdrop and how it interplayed with what was happening on the stage. "I have never seen anything like that before."

She also was charmed by the Mongolian dance which reminded her of Russian dances, or whirling dervishes. She thought it was "visually stunning, and musically diverse. Every piece had something important, something exciting and different."

Susan reminisced about studying anthropology in college, where she was taught that the Manchu court was very traditional, and exactly "what Westerners think of when they think of Chinese culture." She mentioned that each of the dances had their own flavor and moods but that the Mongolian dances were especially vigorous, and must have taken a lot of strength, energy and effort.

On the other hand, the Tibetan dances seemed to be more focused on spiritual aspects. In the nuances of the movements and in the choreography, Susan detected a lot of courtesy of movement; for example, in the way some dancers made way for other dancers. "I think that the Chinese culture is more courteous and less bombastic or aggressive than Western culture. We Westerners are more abrupt in our movements, more direct. There are differences. ... The courtesy of Chinese culture gives Westerners a chance to take the time to understand. Somebody is not rushing all the time." She thought that Westerners should learn to take the time to reflect and answer in kind as opposed to being rushed all the time.

Susan had heard about the show during a visit to Chinatown last summer when she met some people who told her about it. She was enthusiastic about the magnitude of the show and about the contribution of the hosts who did a good job of explaining or setting the stage. She expects to come again next year.