DURHAM, N.C.—Divine Performing Arts (DPA) brought classical Chinese dance and traditional Chinese culture to Durham on Dec. 28 at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The audience was magically transported back through 5,000 years of Chinese culture and saw the richness and profoundness of this ancient culture come alive before their eyes on stage. It was truly an extravagant treat for the mind, body and soul for those who came to the first ever DPA show in Durham.
John Boozer is a music professor at a Baptist Seminary in North Carolina. He really enjoyed the show and said, “There were a lot of very interesting indigenous music from China and I thought they did a very, very good job portraying the music from China.”
When asked to give his professional opinion about the music, John said, “The tuning was very good. Obviously they use very, very strong professional musicians to do the recordings. I thought the soprano and tenor soloists were wonderful. They did an excellent job.”
Lillian Amcosh, who came to the show in a pretty Asian dress, is a young student from Chapel Hill who is learning dance. This was the second time she has seen the DPA performance. She saw her first show in Greensboro last year.
“I loved it as much as I loved it the first time,” she said.
Ms. Amcosh liked the first piece, “The Five Millennia Begin” and the last Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope the best. She also likes the performance about the heroine Mulan, Mulan Joins the Battle. She described the show as “beautifully inspiring.”
John, a biologist, came with his wife Louise, who is a minister. Both are from Raleigh. “It was very pretty. I enjoyed it very much, especially all the dancing. It’s very colorful.”
Louise had a deep appreciation of the ancient Chinese culture she saw. “When the woman said a lot of the tradition is maybe being lost in China, that helped me see that it’s important to bring it here. I really appreciate the effort made by the company who’s doing this.”
A retired couple, Pat and Sam Beasley, from Durham came to the show after hearing about it from friends.
Sam said he appreciated the dancing and choreography. “The show was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The colors and costumes were just fantastic,” said Pat.
The show ended with a rousing ovation from the packed theater. Many of the audience said they would definitely come back to see the show again next year.
For more information please visit DivinePerformingArts.org
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