(Clearwisdom.net)

"Oh, I loved it! It was wonderful! Wonderful color, choreography, very airy, fresh spirit. ... and the music was great!" Ms. Henderson enthusiastically commented about Divine Performing Arts performance at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis.

"And the singers!" Ms. Henderson said. "Even without understanding the words, there was a connection." Ms. Henderson, an Operations Analyst for Reuters News Service, had joined a highly appreciative audience to catch Friday's opening night of the Chinese New Year Spectacular.

"It is highly spiritual. The feeling was beyond words! Particularly the singing," she continued. The world's premier Chinese dance and music company, Divine Performing Arts, brings together singers, dancers and musicians from around the world, breaking new ground by focusing on the authentic, cultural heritage of ancient China.

Her companion, Ms. Mickles, who works for AARP, added, "I like the words, it was spiritual because, to me, I sing in a choir, and I can understand when they were singing and the words that came across the screen. It was more spiritual to me, it was as if I were singing the words also."

Ms. Henderson felt that she and Ms. Mickles may have shared the same experience that bordered on the spiritual. "Then maybe we are saying the same thing. If I hadn't been able to read the words, I would have still felt it, that's what I find. So I just got it, naturally. It gave me shivers. The first couple of singers were just ....

"With God!" Ms. Mickles interrupted to help her friend clarify the thought. "With God." Ms. Henderson immediately agreed. "A higher power, you call it Dafa? It's God as far as I'm concerned," she chuckled.

"Wonderful, wonderful music! Beautiful floral scenery, very serene and that was great!" she concluded.

Also among those attending was regular theater-goer, Mr. Lashly, a private financial manager, who brought his wife and two daughters. Without reservation, Mr. Scott shared his experience of the show: "I thought it was phenomenal. It was just so much to see, and we learned a lot too, so I mean it was just a wonderful experience."

"The whole thing was pretty spectacular," he commented. "Couldn't take my eyes off of it."

He noted the drumming number. Dragon Spring Drummers shows the fun-loving spirit of China's indigenous folk culture in a portrayal of everyday life through highlights of octagonal-shaped drums.

Mr. Lashly thought the show was phenomenal; the singing outstanding, the music absolutely enjoyable; and the costumes beautiful.

"I think probably the biggest thing was just the whole way it was choreographed, with the people, the host coming out and introducing each piece, and talking a little bit about the background of every piece and then bringing everything to the stage in such a delightful way," Mr. Lashly said.

But at the end what he appreciated most was the fundamentals of the spiritual side: the tolerance and peace and all those messages are things we all can probably learn lessons from.

Leaders in the St. Louis education and law fields also attended the Spectacular in St. Louis at the lovely Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Mr. Tate, a national program leader for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said, "It's a beautiful show, really enjoyed it, full of energy."

Mr. Tate is interested in getting youth involved in community efforts. His work for Cooperative State Research Education has led to educating youth involved in the USDA's outreach program and has led to real community problems being solved by its youngest citizens.

Mr. Tate liked the Tibetan dance a lot because of its high energy and he would recommend their friends to see it the next day.

The Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain celebrates the joys of the Tibetan steppes as the dancers spin, stop and step in their long sleeves, study boots, and colorful prayer beads. The dance captures the energy of these vibrant people.

Of note to the couple were the projected backdrops. "The use of the video was fantastic, good idea, very creative," said Mrs. Tate while Mr. Tate described them as "quite beautiful, magnificent."

Some of the backdrops begin as a painting, some are created digitally. Many are animated, allowing flower petals to sweep gently across fields and snow to softly fall. Come show time, each is manually operated to integrate precisely with the rhythms of the performance.

But he thought what impresses him the most about Chinese culture was "the incredible history, the resilience of the nation for thousands of years to be able to stay on the front edge of keeping things moving forward."

Mr. Frazier, the president of a corporation based in St. Louis, expressed similar sentiments.

"This show is wonderful! It really is. From the beginning to the end there is a lot of talent from the singers to the dancers. It was really great!"

He had seen many Asian shows on business trips to Mainland China but never anything like this. "I recognized a lot of tradition in the show," he said. His favorite number was The Monkey King Triumphs.

In this performance, one of Chinese history's most beloved characters, the Monkey King, travels west to help a monk retrieve sacred scriptures. Along the way they beset by a demon in the guise of a temptress. The storyline reflects a melding of the magical, moral and the mundane so common in the classical Chinese novel the scene is taken from, Journey to the West.

"I would recommend the show to my Chinese friends, they would enjoy this. I will come back next year!" Mr. Frazier concluded.