(Clearwisdom.net) Divine Performing Arts (DPA)'s third performance at the John F. Kennedy Center on Thursday, February 12, brought the audience to their feet in a long standing ovation.

At the close of Thursday evening's performance, DPA received long standing ovations and a curtain call. Attending the VIP reception after the show was a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Theatre, Ms. Jacqueline Akhmedova. Ms. Akhmedova is also a former Faculty member with the Kirov Academy, as well as a dancer with the Munich State Opera Ballet in Germany and the Vienna State Opera Ballet in Austria.

Ms. Jacqueline Akhmedova

As a professional and an artist herself, she said that the performance resonated with her on a deeper level. "It's very emotional!" she said. "I liked everything. They had stories to tell, and it was very emotional!" she exclaimed, responding to the piece "Mulan Joins the Battle." This drama tells the story of how the young Mulan disguises herself as a man in order to take the place of her ailing father in order to fulfill the twin Confucian duties as a dutiful daughter and being of service to one's country. "I really enjoyed that." said Ms. Akhmedova. "Because sometimes you don't see that anymore. I think it's a good thing!" "And I really enjoyed the costumes. They're so beautiful. It's unbelievable!"

Among the enthusiastic audience members was ballerina Mariel Miller, who found the DPA performers "Incredible to watch!" The dancing was "beautiful" she said about the fluidity of the dancers.

Ms. Miller trained under renowned dance instructor Slava Mesropov at the Ballet Royale Academy in Columbia, MD and Svetlana Kravtsova, owner of L'Etoile Ballet Academy, LLC, in Ellicott City, MD. She said that her dance background gave her an insight into the training, dance movements, and technical expertise of DPA performers.

"It is quite incredible to watch them move like that - so fluid and so beautiful. It is incredible to watch, whereas classical ballet (I have been trained by the Russians) is very stiff and very held. It was incredible to be able to dance with that fluidity."

Ms. Miller went on to note the many differences between Western Ballet and classical Chinese dance. "Chinese classical dance is beautiful! It is very [different] from classical ballet. We actually had a Master class with Michelle Ren, [lead dancer and choreographer of DPA], earlier this week, and it was incredible to see how you use a lot of the same muscles but the accents and the style are very different from classical ballet."

Ms. Miller said she has been very inspired by the evening and is keen to experiment with Chinese dance techniques in her own dancing. "I was really impressed with their ability to hold their upper bodies. It was quite incredible watching them use their legs and muscles that way and be able to maintain that fluidity, which is something that I really want to apply to my classical ballet. It is an incredible technique and seeing it is just gorgeous! It has inspired me to add parts of their techniques to mine, as well, especially as I pursue a modern direction."
"Appealing to the eye"

Brian Rennex, is an Argentinean tango dancer who has also performed at the Kennedy Center. He said that he appreciated seeing Divine Performing Arts, although for quite different reasons. Mr. Rennex, who is also a physicist and inventor of a new type of footwear, not only had an eye for the dance expression but also displayed great interest in what the performances conveyed to the audience. "There is the undertone of spirituality and, just another way of saying it, just plain old goodness. People [here] are being good ... But, you see, in the real world, it's harsh, it's hard on people. Yet, it makes life easier if some people are nice to you. The whole show shows how people can be nice and artistic at the same time. I love it!"

He went on to add, "It's gorgeous! Well, even just in terms of the show details. The costumes are just fabulous, and the choreography, especially with this big group, is just so precise. Everything is just so very beautiful and appealing to the eye!"

"Being a strong male"

Nicholas Martin, a graduate student at a Washington, DC, university was also glad to have seen Divine Performing Arts, saying it "was outstanding ...it really stood out from other things that I have seen!"

Nicholas Martin said, "They put a lot of emotion into their movements, and they smiled a lot."

He loved the DPA's focus on traditional Chinese culture and, like many other young males, was particularly impressed with the "The Monkey King Triumphs" because of its emphasis on being a strong male. He said that he especially enjoyed the "fighting parts, like the Monkey King, that's probably the one that stood out the most." Based on an excerpt from Journey to the West, one of China's most beloved classic novels, the dance drama "The Monkey King Triumphs" tells the story of a Buddhist monk who is traveling to the West in search of scriptures. Along the way, he and his companions are beset by challenges in the form a demonic temptress. The story reflects the melding of the magical, the moral, and the mundane, a hallmark of the traditional Chinese novel.

Mr. Martin did not hesitate to talk about his overall impression of the show, "I would go back and see it again. It's probably better than anything I have ever seen before."

Source: http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/11933/ http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/11939/