(Clearwisdom.net) The fifth Chinese New Year Splendor by the Divine Performing Arts drew several prominent members of the Chinese community. They praised the show and shared their thoughts with the reporter.
Singer Lan Yeliu: "I was drawn to the show from the beginning to the end"
Well-known singer Lan Yeliu saw the show that day. He won a silver medal at the famous Puccini International Voice Competition in Italy. He thought that the show was very professional from an artist's point of view. A truly successful show, according to Mr. Lan, is always able to touch people's hearts, be infectious and thrilling, and hold people's attention throughout the show.
As an artist himself, tenor Lan Yeliu thought the show was very professional (Photo by Ma Youzhi/The Epoch Times)
He said that, throughout the evening, he felt almost mesmerized by the show. As a drama critic, he said he was rarely drawn in by a story's plot. Saturday's show, however, he judged to be unique, one that does not come along often.
Engineer Li Leilin from China said, "The show depicts our heritage and traditional Chinese culture. In comparison, the performances I saw in China, they either were Westernized or sang the praises of the CCP--it was really annoying to watch them. Today's performances were fresh and new--truly authentic traditional Chinese culture. They have very high artistic standards, very professional, top-class. The show conveys the beauty of human nature in China's fine traditions, such as the pursuit of truth. It makes people feel as if their human nature has been purified and elevated after seeing the show."
Wang Juntao: "I feel I have been purified"
Well-known democracy activist Dr. Wang Juntao, a graduate in political science from Columbia University, also came to the show on Saturday. He said it was the second time he had seen it, and the feeling he had was even stronger this time. He said that, from the artistic perspective, he found the performances very pure with very profound artistic connotations that could purify people's hearts. He felt he had been purified and had gotten rid of distracting thoughts and become cleaner.
Democracy activist Dr. Wang Juntao, graduate of Columbia University (Photo by Dai Bing/ The Epoch Times)
Wang Juntao said the ancient Chinese believed that music could purify people's hearts and souls and could penetrate deeply. Today's show in particular, he felt, achieved this effect. "I feel very pleasant, as if I have been elevated and my soul purified. I'm able to see what's happening clearly in this world."
Wang Juntao also said that the show presented healthy trends and the positive spirit of human beings, attributes today's China especially needs.
"Today's China is in a transitional period and the society has become morally degenerate. We need people to step forward to overcome the evil that threatens our nation. In the past, many people thought that economy and technology would save China, but the reality has turned out to be the opposite. We need to rely on people's hearts and souls, and people need to have less concern for their own material comfort and contribute to the happiness of many more other people."
He said, "Just like the performance 'Goddess of the Moon,' we always need people who are prepared to sacrifice their own interests. I have seen this in today's performance. This also reflects the virtues in China's traditional culture."
Wang said that there were legends in ancient times that gods would come down to save people at a certain time, and there have been similar legends in the West, too. "But we need to have a corresponding spirit in the human world, and only then can we have hope. I have seen this hope in today's show."
Poet Huang Xiang (Photo by Shi Yu / The Epoch Times)
Huang Xiang in NY said, "I could not hold back my tears." A famous Chinese poet, Mr. Huang said on Saturday, "In this show, I can see that oriental culture, the Chinese traditional culture, is spreading in the West. I feel the show is one form of expression of the multi-culture of the orient, and a form that expresses the true oriental spirit of humanity." He said that he is also committed to the promotion of oriental culture in his own way, so when he saw this type of spirit in the show he was deeply moved. "I felt very touched from the very first performance. I could not hold back the tears."
Huang Xiang said that from an artistic standpoint, the show presented pure arts that were free from vulgarized culture. "No matter what beliefs people hold, we should all be able to live in harmony in a multi-cultural society."
He said he did not practice Falun Gong himself, but he supported freedom of belief. "When a person is persecuted for his/her belief, my conscience stands on the side of the victim."
Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts
