(Clearwisdom.net) The Divine Performing Arts (DPA) New York Company and the DPA Orchestra staged their first show at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan on December 30, 2008. The audience greatly praised the show and expressed amazement over this profound performance of traditional Chinese culture.
Mary Rose Wiergba and her daughter, Janice Labadie, came to watch the show together. Both ladies are dancers themselves and Janice has three daughters who are ballet dancers. They were both very moved by the performance and expressed their feelings during an interview.
Mary Rose mentioned that her daughter wrote a book about her with the title 'I Was Born to Dance.' When asked her how long she has danced, Mary Rose replied, "I was born dancing." She has been dancing since she was a young girl, and still dances today at ninety-four years old.
Mary Rose said about the show, "It was wonderful, it was absolutely wonderful. They are just excellent about what they're doing."
Janice said the aspect of the show that impressed her most was that it reminded her of the older days, which were so different than what we have today. "That's what we like," she said.
When asked what she was referring to about the old days, she replied, "Well, everything that they did was so refined, so graceful. You don't see a lot of that today. Seeing the show today reminded me of my memories of way back. It's still in there, you know, it's so beautiful, especially the costumes!"
Mary Rose jumped in with, "It's that era, that's real. I liked that era."
When asked whether this was the message they understood from the DPA show, Mary Rose replied, "Yes, you feel it, you feel everything, you sit there and you can't go to sleep or anything. You really sit there and enjoy your soul, you know, and I love it."
Both ladies were asked what they thought about professional Chinese dance, looking at it from their professional dance perspective. Janice replied, "Oh, I can't say enough. It reminds me of being back in my youth, the gracefulness, the look of the entire cast."
Mary Rose replied, "It was so, it's so natural, like life used to be, and still is in this show."
Janice said what impressed her most was the young people in the show. "What they give to the show, you can tell that they give from their hearts when they dance, and when they perform. I mean, you're just taken in by everything that the show has to present. I didn't want it to end."
Mary Rose said, "Everything today is supersized, and everybody does the same thing."
Janice answered, "Oh, [sighs deeply], outstanding, outstanding. And then who also played, I thought it was like a harp, but wasn't a harp, it was a Chinese violin--Erhu. Yes, it was wonderful, that was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Everything was so breathtaking, the singers, the instrumentals, even the MCs. The gentlemen and the young lady stood out in front and introduced each piece and explained it, providing background."
She continued, "I think the talent is just outstanding. The talent that we saw on the stage, whether they were vocalists, or the pianist, and certainly the orchestra--all the talent that was there came together so wonderfully well."