(Clearwisdom.net) NEW YORK--The Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Splendor came to Brooklyn Academy of Music this weekend. New York State Senator Eric Adams was amongst the audience of the final matinée show on January 4.

New York State Senator Eric Adams at DPA in Brooklyn (The Epoch Times)

Senator Adams was pleased to hear that the DPA International Company is based in New York and has principally Chinese performers from all over the world, including some from the New York area. He said, "It's just unbelievable. I believe the Divine Performing Arts is just coming here [to the Brooklyn Academy of Music], this great borough. Great show... and to find out that many of the performers are right here from the New York area, it's just wonderful to know that we have a touch of China right here in this great city."

Senator Adams said he was amazed by the beauty of the performances and that he appreciated the legends and stories behind each dance, "I truly enjoyed it. It was such a surprise to see all the beautiful costumes, all the beautiful dances, and to learn that each dance had a purpose, and a story behind it, to be able to connect our spiritualities to our bodies, the oneness of that, it was just a beautiful experience.

"My favorite performance was the drummers ['Drummers of the Tang Court'], I thought the drummers were great, and also the museum piece ['The Miraculous Exhibit'], because when you looked on the wall, you saw the term 'compassion.' It appears to me that compassion is a gift that just keeps on giving, and to see that, not only should we observe what is taking place in the museum, but to practice it, we begin to see the healing process that also comes from that. So I enjoyed the museum and the drummers that come from that, extremely.

"Spirituality is so important. I just recently returned from China. I have a full understanding of how important--and the Chinese people understand that spirituality has so much to do with the body and the mind, and some of these simple, routine exercises that we do, and some of the things we do, is a healing process on how we show compassion towards others, and you can't expect compassion to come towards you if you don't extend compassion towards others. You see that every day in the Chinese life, the Chinese music, the Chinese dance, the Chinese clothing, it is clearly a message of being compassionate to the globe, and hopefully the globe will find that to be contagious, and I saw that in the dances today."

Senator Adams felt this was the most beautiful performance he had ever seen. When asked how this performance compared to other shows he has seen, he replied, "Oh, this is on the top of the list. I don't think you can compare anything to this. When you look at the music, I just came from the dance theatre of Harlem where I saw some beautiful dances, and I saw many other dances that take place in the city, this is the city of entertainment, but clearly if there's a place that's indicative of what's great about the combination of dance, of culture, and just style, this is the place to be. And I'm hoping many New Yorkers, particularly our schoolchildren, have an opportunity to see and understand that there is so much to this very rich culture. When we were just babies on the globe, the Chinese community, the Chinese people were already great dynasties, and there's a lot we can learn, as Americans, on how to be persistent, how to ensure that a dynasty can live forever. Long before there was an American dynasty, there were many Chinese dynasties, and we can learn from those dynasties."

Senator Adams wanted to send a New Year greeting to the people in China, he said, "Happy New Year to China, and welcome to the Year of the Ox, we've left the Year of the Rat, and now we're into the very challenging period of the Year of the Ox. If ever we need dedication, commitment, and hard labor, this is the year that the entire globe is understanding we must come together. I think the process begins--as the Chinese people have shown us--the process begins with compassion, compassion is the gift that keeps on giving.

The show features Chinese classical dance, as well as the worlds' largest computer interactive background, which interacts with the whole show to create the scenery and ambiance.

If you missed the show over the weekend, Divine Performing Arts will be at Radio City Music Hall on January 24 and 25 to bring in the Chinese New Year.

January 5, 2009