By Minghui correspondent Li Xinmei

(Clearwisdom.net) The Divine Performing Arts New York Company completed its run at Meitetsu Hall in Nagoya, the second stop on its Asian tour, on February 17, 2008. The audience members at all the shows responded with rounds of excited applause. After the show, audience members were reluctant to leave the music hall. They kept saying, "Wonderful!" Many thanked the Divine Performing Arts and the sponsor.

On February 17, the audience intently watched the show presented by the Divine Performing Arts at Meitetsu Hall in Nagoya

The show concluded at the second stop on the Divine Performing Arts' Asian tour amid cheers from the audience

Kato Minami, Minister of Policy in Liandu City, Aichi, Japan

Kato Minami, Minister of Policy in Liandu (phonetic) City, Aichi, Japan, attended the performance. Mr. Kato agreed to an interview with the reporter during the intermission, and he highly praised the show. He said, "It's a very beautiful performance. Using dance techniques to express the divine beings and Buddhas makes it quite easy for people to accept. Historically, it's been rather difficult to portray such subjects. All kinds of issues in history are difficult to present on stage. The performers used their body language to express these subjects in today's performance. It was very good. All in all, the dancing was quite wonderful."

Mr. Kato added that the show was completely different from modern dances in Western societies. He thought the performers faithfully conveyed the purity in their hearts.

Nagoya City Councilor Shigehiro Okadome attended the first show in Nagoya. He said that each performance was very good, and was backed by history. He could sense the historical background. He made a point of mentioning the last performance at the first half of the show, "Drummers of the Tang Court." He said that the excellent drumming performance was very majestic.

Mr. Shigehiro said he had been to China. He experienced from today's performance what China's history truly is and how broad and profound the Chinese culture is. He said he liked all the performances.

Nagoya City Councilor Shigehiro Okadome

Aichi Prefecture Assembly Member Nobuyuki Yoneda attended the second show in Nagoya. He was impressed with the artistry of the show and said dthat the inner meaning presented in the show was even better. He experienced the profound nature of Chinese culture. He said he had a sense of fulfillment after seeing the show.

Aichi Prefecture Assembly Member Nobuyuki Yoneda and his wife attended the show

Mr. Yoneda commented on the bright colors, the music, and that dances, particularly the "Mongolian Bowl Dance," which he thought was wonderful. He also thought that the postures and movements of the performers were very beautiful.

Mr. Yoneda added that the show was different from common entertainment, as the dances "Lady of the Moon," and "The Risen Lotus Flower" both had deep inner meaning.

He said that Japanese culture derives from China. Chinese culture was the foundation for Japanese culture, and they share the same origin. He mentioned that Japan also has similar legendary stories, including "The Moon Goddess."

Takehisa Hisano, director of Arai News at the Sino-Japan News Agency, along with two staff members, attended the show on the evening of February 17 in Nagoya.

Takehisa Hisano, director of Arai News at the Sino-Japan News Agency

Mr. Takehisa said that all the performers seemed highly skilled, with each performance a reflection of the performers' hard training. He said it was a very special way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The Divine Performing Arts performance offered him to a moving and meaningful evening.

Mr. Takehisa started learning the Chinese language 25 years ago, and he has frequent business contact with China. To continue learning Chinese, he often watches Chinese operas with ancient costumes on TV. When he saw the "Drummers of the Tang Court," he felt that he had seen it before and was quite familiar with it. He said he would definitely recommend that more staff members see the show. He hopes that the Divine Performing Arts will come to Nagoya again next year.

Ms. Liu came from Shandong, China, and has been studying in Japan for two years. On February 17, she drove for one and a half hours in the snow to Nagoya to see the Divine Performing Arts.

After the show, Ms. Liu said that, as a Chinese, it was the first time that she has seen such remarkable Chinese culture. She was moved. Though overseas, she felt she was in China.

Ms. Liu had a special affection for the dance "Ladies of the Manchu Court." She said that "Ladies of the Manchu Court" was particularly elegant. The graceful movements were so beautiful, and each posture was particularly appealing. She had never see their unique beauty anywhere else. Such beauty was passed down from ancient China. She hoped the Divine Performing Arts would perform around the entire world.

What impressed Ms. Liu the most was the dance "The Power of Awareness." She said in tears, "The performance with the three words 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' was the most touching. Such a thing in modern life really is happening around us,and here it was, presented it on stage. I feel that modern life should have 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' and it is really what we should do. But the bad guys and wicked things presented just now on the stage, many of them are around us [in modern life]. It takes time for them to truly understand 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' and transform into good people."

Ms. Liu said that the spirit of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" moved her deeply, and she also wanted to learn them. "I did not have a deep impression about Falun Gong before, but after seeing the performance, I was indeed moved. I will read more about it later and go to learn a bit, to understand the meaning of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'"

Overseas Chinese student Ms. Zhang, who is majoring in economics said, "I'm very surprised, I have never seen such a wonderful performance in China. In ancient times, only emperors could see it in their palaces. Being able to see such a wonderful performance abroad, and presented by overseas performing company, I'm even more amazed. It's a pity that I did not ask more friends to come today. Only by seeing it for myself did I realize how wonderful it is. I should have asked some teachers to come, too."

Mr. Zhang was from China and now works in Japanese Customs. He told the reporter, "The performance was wonderful! I have never been so moved by any other performance. Whether it was the costumes or the choreography, they were all from our traditional Chinese culture. The movements were very energetic and vigorous. The content of the lyrics was very good. I thank you for presenting us such a wonderful performance. I know it's our good fortune. I should go to find the truth. "

Mr. Kokubo Masayuki is director of the associations "Let Nagoya Be More Beautiful" and "Overseas Exchange Students." He and his wife attended the evening show in Nagoya. At intermission, they were interviewed by the reporter.

Mr. Kokubo said that the backdrop of the performance was rich in expression and very impressive. The performers' costumes were colorful and bright, and their movements were carefully synchronized. They must have had much training. The "Drummers of the Tang Court" was very powerful. Though there is a drum performance in Japan, the movements of the "Drummers of the Tang Court" were richer. The way of expressing gods and Buddhas in the performance was simple and concise, and the story was easy to understand.

It was the first time the couple had seen such a performance, but they were deeply impressed and enjoyed themselves.

Posting date: 2/22/2008
Original article date: 2/22/2008
Category: News & Media Reports
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/2/19/172766.html

 Yearly Archive  Printer Version