Jan 31, 2009

Many audience members came from around Colorado to watch the performance. (The Epoch Times)

DENVER--Ms. Brown teaches English at a college. She has been nominated by the Peace Corps to teach English in China. She has a Ph.D and specializes in teaching English as a second language, history and geography.

"I thought it was truly phenomenal. One of the things I liked the most was the diversity."

To Ms. Brown, many of the female dancers looked like they were floating across the stage. "There's such a grace and a beauty and a spectacular array of colors."

Classical Chinese dance is a unique dance heritage. In its early stages it was mainly passed down among the common people, through members of the imperial court, and as part of ancient theater. Over the years, dancers refined, experimented with, and reworked it to arrive at the extraordinary system of Chinese classical dance known today. It is part of the divinely inspired heritage that is China's five-millennia-old culture, and one means by which that culture lives on.

"Then you have the passion and energy of the male dances," said Ms. Brown, who was impressed by the vitality of the male dances and the flips that the men could perform.

Classical Chinese dance has its own complete set of training methods in foundational skills, a strict regimen for perfecting bearing and form, and means of training for skill sets such as jumps, turns, and flips, as well as extremely demanding aerial techniques, culminating in an enormous dance system. The aerial movements of classical Chinese dance contain a wealth of high-flying dives, dexterous leaps, and diverse spins.

Ms. Brown was moved by the narratives presented on the stage.

"The dramatic interpretation of scenes like 'Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution' and 'Dignity and Compassion'-- it just brought me to tears."

"Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution" portrays the persecution of Falun Dafa. Oppression is a painful reality for millions of people in China today, as witnessed by an innocent family whose father is persecuted for practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional spiritual discipline. Theirs is the human face of the countless tragic, broken lives in China we seldom hear about. The fantastic scenes that ultimately unfold in this piece present a message of hope and bespeak of a longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.

"I was really impressed with each and every performance and their interpretation of the characters, the music and the story," said Ms. Brown.

Ms. Brown said that she enjoyed the humor in some of the stories, particularly the way the story of the Monkey King was presented. She thoroughly enjoyed the story of Mulan as well and was pleased it was presented in a traditional way.

Ms. Brown applauded the efforts the performers made to keep traditional Chinese culture alive, saying, "It was such a wonderful experience to see thousands of years of civilization so beautifully represented on the American stage. There is so much persecution and many of these values and the artistry has been lost."