Bob Bose, a Theater Critic in Denver: "Very Beautiful Spiritual Dances"

(Clearwisdom.net) On January 12, 2008, the Divine Performing Arts' Chinese New Year Spectacular presented two shows at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Nearly 5,000 Western and Chinese audience members attended. Many expressed their great appreciation for the show.

Bob Bose, a theater critic in Denver, said, "I write for a variety of magazines, one a national entertainment magazine here in the States. I do a couple of interviews and reviews every month for the Denver Post, also KUVO, which is the jazz public radio station here, and for my own website. So I guess my first impression is that 2,500 years ago, philosopher Aristotle wrote about theater or wrote about the important elements from ancient theater and so the most obvious element here is spectacle, I think. You've got all of these marvelous costumes and traditional and modern orchestration, meaning some traditional Chinese and some Western music. The dances were really wonderful, a little different than what we are experiencing here in the West."

He continued, "There is a lot of wisdom in the teachings here. I was interested in what we call the libretto, the actual lyrics to the music and such, so I enjoyed that a lot. Each part in each piece has its own meaning in Chinese culture."

When he was asked what impressed him most, he replied, "I think just the whole range of it, from the drums, which were very exciting to a couple of martial arts segments that were very strong and the other parts that were very beautiful spiritual dances. I think it was really the whole thing--the whole range--that impressed me."

Mr. Ricki Martinez said, "I really enjoyed this show tonight, because it was like a fresh message. It was like a New Year's salute to everyone. I really liked it. I really liked the drums and the part about the plains of Siberia. It was a combination of colors, beauty, delicacy, and harmony." When he was asked about his impression of China, he replied, "It's different from I saw in the show today. (Today's show was) very oriental but it had a very impressive message for the rest of the world."

He continued, "I wish I would have seen this show prior to writing the resolutions I did several years ago. There is a lot of history here, but when you talk about if the show is accurate, it couldn't have been better. The costumes and the people, the action, I mean, it was great. We have been to both Mongolia and China. I have ridden one of those Mongolian horses. So I know it wasn't nearly as smooth as it was on the stage, but anyhow, you got a lot of history there. You tell a story and that's what's so great about it. It's just wonderful. That's all there is to it."

Mr. Martinez's wife, Pat, said that she felt the same way. "The culture comes out, there are so many different kinds, and they all blend together." Ricky said again, "It's just so much history and culture there and you want to maintain it like it used to be and not where it may be going today."

He was asked how he felt about the two programs about Falun Gong, since he had written several resolutions for Falun Gong. He replied, "Well, I'm glad to do it. One thing about it, I guess back in my day, when I joined the Marine Corps, I joined to protect people."

When the reporter asked another couple which programs they liked the best, the husband replied, "They all go together. They're great, because they all tell a story, each one of them. You put them all together and that's the whole story. They all are very talented. You can read the words up there and that tells the story. It blended right in. I think it was great. I wish I had seen them all along, back to 2004. Here it is 2008 and this is our first time in Denver. Do they change this a little bit?" He was told that every year, there will be some different dances and music, but basically it is all about 5,000 years of Chinese culture. The show will be performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York and will be different than the Denver performance. He then replied, "Well, we will have to come and see it next year." His wife said, "Yes, it was really great. Thank you for bringing it here."