Music Instructor: "Absolutely Well Done!"

By Li Ruoyun

(Clearwisdom.net) Eugene Sterling, a retired music instructor from San Jose, and his wife Susan Sterling watched Chinese New Year Spectacular in San Francisco on January 23, 2008. Mr. Sterling highly praised the show, saying, "Absolutely well done!"

Mr. Sterling was glad to have the chance to learn more about Chinese culture. He said, "It was a beautiful presentation of ancient Chinese culture and all of the wonderful things that go along with it. I don't know much about Chinese classical dance, and it was very interesting to see it tonight. I understood a lot of what went on, which surprised me." He continued, "I think in this age, we have so much diversity in the world, but we are all one, and we all need to learn about other cultures. I really appreciate this tonight."

Mr. Sterling also praised the excellent artistry displayed in the show. "I've been a musician all my life, and I think the singers did very, very well," he said. He was impressed most with the performance "Descent of the Celestial Kings." He said, "Every culture has its own mythology and this gave us the sense of Chinese mythology of the gods creating kings to come down to the earth. It was beautifully done." He remarked that all of the stories in different cultures have things in common that deal with trials and tribulations, joys and sadness. He added, "We all have human emotions, so we can all relate to them."

His wife Susan enjoyed the performances and the meaning behind them. She said, "I think that it shows that it is a human need to be free from oppression. And the truth is good, regardless of what it is, truth is beautiful."

Susan has a background in fashion and said that she especially enjoyed the costuming and the dancing. She noted, "This is depicting a beautiful culture that I don't know a lot about. The body movements and the use of hands are very gentle and delicate and graceful. And the women were floating across the stage. I loved that."

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