Epoch Times Florida Staff

Dec 31, 2007

Deborah Engle, Ruth Philipon, and Barbara Cohen (James Fish/The Epoch Times)

ST PETERSBURG, Fla--The final performance of Holiday Wonders at St Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater inspired rave reviews, especially of the drums, costumes, choreography, and the profound meaning found in traditional Chinese culture at its best.

Deborah Engel, of St. Petersburg, came with two friends. She found the show "absolutely beautiful." "I love the grace and the message, and I'd love to see it again. I'd love to see it at Radio City Music Hall if I get a chance--I'm going to try to do that. Wonderful! Absolutely fabulous!"

"When I walked into the auditorium, I had a different picture of China. We think of communist China, but this gave me a wonderful image of the people of China, their culture, the gentility, the grace, the peace. I loved the truthfulness. I loved the message that was transmitted--very beautiful!" she said.

She wasn't surprised to hear that the Chinese consulate had tried to interfere with the show, and she thinks that's wrong. "The message speaks to people everywhere, all around the world. I think we should all stand up and fight to keep the show going, and I would support it."

Deborah's friend Ruth Philipon, of St. Petersburg, is a professional artist. She was struck by "the incredible costuming, the color, the scenery--it truly was a feast for the eyes. The grace and beauty of the whole performance was magical. I'm really happy I came with friends, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Being an artist, I'm very attracted to visual images, and the costuming was absolutely incredible."

Sonya Walker and Colin Davis (James Fish/The Epoch Times)

Barbara Cohen agreed with her two friends and wished her 13-year-old granddaughter, who has an interest in art and costume design, could see the show. Barbara, who's of Russian heritage, saw similarities to other cultures in the dance movements. The Mongolian section had lots of things she's seen at Jewish weddings. "It's a treasure, wonderful!" she said.

Colin Davis, president of a marketing company, said that Holiday Wonders was "a great cultural event." He found the presentation of China's ancient culture "very spiritual, very much centered about peace," and he said the show sent a good message to the young people in the audience.

Debbie Supowit, of Detroit, liked the Mongolian Bowl Dance--"that's very special"--and the drumming. "I think this has a lot more depth of messaging, not only the performance, the dance, and the movement, but the lyrics they put on the screen." She was referring to the huge digital backdrop, which displayed Chinese landscapes, architecture, historic scenes, and song lyrics in English and Chinese.

Michael Kirsch and Frank Yurasko (James Fish/The Epoch Times)

Frank Yurasko, of Redington Beach, Fla., said, "I liked the choreography, of course, and the drums. Also, it expresses the issue of oppression, so current in China." He said he had read in the newspaper that the Chinese government tried to interfere with the show.

The performances "demonstrated the oppression and the effort to find truthfulness," Frank said. He had been in China on a tour and could see that "the people have very little ability to express themselves. They're basically suppressed, and the impression is that the suppression is by the government and the officials. And what you read about is that people who do express themselves are the ones who go to jail."

The audience applauds enthusiastically. (The Epoch Times)

This was the first year that Holiday Wonders played in Florida, opening in Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 27 and concluding with two shows in St. Petersburg.

The mission of the Divine Performing Arts company, which is based in New York City, is to promote China's traditional culture. Most of its performers are ethnic Chinese who grew up in the West.

The next stop for the Divine Performing Arts company will be Philadelphia, where it will perform the Chinese New Year Spectacular, beginning a world tour that includes over 60 cities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. For more information, see http://www.bestchineseshows.com/

Source http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-12-31/63456.html

Category: Falun Dafa in the Media