By Rosemarie Frühauf, Epoch Times German Staff, Apr 20, 2008-
MUNICH, Germany — Barbara Zapf-Dorn, owner of a ballet school in Nuremberg, thoroughly enjoyed the renowned Chinese Spectacular when she attended the show at Munich’s Prince Regent Theatre on Saturday.
(photo: Barbara Zapf-Dorn, owner of a ballet school in Nuremberg. /Jason Wang,The Epoch Times)
She commented on the high caliber of the dancers. “It was excellent. The precision was impressive as well as the intensity with which the performers danced. They also endure quite a lot. They have to sacrifice a lot in order to perform like this. It was, all things considered, a great masterpiece. From the dancing, the music, singing, lighting, to the stage picture, everything was perfect.”
Zapf-Dorn was especially impressed by the Mongolian Bowl Dance in which the dancers delicately balance bowls on their heads.
“The choreography in this big crowd impressed me; everything performed there was truly in its own way unique. I have already seen many performances, international – the Bolschoi Theater and many more — but the interpretation here was something new for me and very interesting. The new thing was the special movements of the Chinese dance with the arms and the walking, without moving the upper body.”
Zapf-Dorn was a solo dancer at the state theatre in Stuttgart before she opened a professional school for stage dancing in Nuremberg. There she takes care of performances for the opera house.
“I also do things in the opera house in Nuremberg with up to 150 participants. I always say, if one does not have enough dancers, one cannot express something great. I then go and fetch the talented people from various schools.”
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.BestChineseShows.com.
From Journey To the East program, NTDTV, on Youtube-
Painter Zhang Cui Ying, has received numerous prizes and awards. Zhang’s painting Before Winter Sets In was awarded second place in the 1986 “National Poetry Based Painting Competition” organised by the “Literature and Painting Magazine”. The Artist painted a lady sitting next to the window in deep thought. When Zhang went to pick up the prize, everyone was shocked, they had expected the artist to be an old man and never guessed it would be a girl in her twenties!
Zhang Cui Ying’s works can be seen published in newspapers and magazines in China and overseas and are also part of the collection in the book “Shanghai’s Talented Middle Age and Youth Painters and Calligraphers”.
Zhang Cui Ying’s One Hundred Koalas is not only a mascot but a treasure to Australia; lively, agile, natural and innocent. This painting, over 5 meters long, has received an Award of Excellence in the Chinese Wash Paintings for the Gold Awards category of the First Asia and the Pacific Competition.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic— “Totally, completely divine,” said Alexandra Polarczyk describing the Chinese Spectacular after attending the matinee at the Prague Congress Centre on Tuesday.
Polarczyk was especially impressed by the dancers.
(photo: Opera singer Alexandra Polarczyk said that the Chinese Spectacular was “completely divine”. / Jan Jekielek/The Epoch Times)
“They are perfectly organized, very silent, they are floating — it seems that they weigh only a few grams. They are wonderful. I’ve got feeling that there are five hundred of them.”Although still studying opera singing, Polarczyk is already performing at the Antonin Dvorak Theater, a major Moravian theater.”I liked every performance. The visual effects were ingenious. That one with fabrics, for example the waterfall [Nymphs of the Sea], it takes your breath away.”
She was also impressed by the state of the art digital backdrops used in the Spectacular.
“The video projections were super, they were nicely blended into the story. Wonderful stories, wonderful expressions.”
As for the singing, one of her favourites was the contra-altist, Jiansheng Yang. However, she said the erhu performance made her feel like she was “in Heaven.”
“The most beautiful musical experience for me was the Erhu player, Xiaochun Qi. It was perfect, I wanted to listen it for a whole lifetime. Like magic, splendid.”
The erhu is a two-stringed Chinese instrument known for its wide range of notes and mellow, haunting sound. Polarczyk also commented on the professionalism of the show.
“It was like professional recording, like they polished faults in studio and then played the best version of recording. Perfect. From artistic viewpoint I’m very positively surprised.”
TAIPEI— New York-based Divine Performing Arts is now following up in Taiwan, being well underway with its 22-show tour. The performance venues include the cities of Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Taipei and Chiayi.
After watching the Chinese Spectacular several times, art director in a dancing company, Yang Siya, stated that Divine Performing Arts is changing the world. Originally she bought 52 tickets. Ultimately she ended up buying 80.
With over 20 years experience in dance instruction, Yang went to Radio City Music Hall in New York City at the time of the Chinese New Year to watch Divine Performing Arts’ Splendor. She said, “Art needs to move the spirit. When people’s hearts are moved, they can understand a whole lot more. Divine Performing Arts has proved this by virtue of the fact that its worldwide tour has drawn in audiences from various nationalities, cultural backgrounds and professions.”
The large background scenery really inspired Yang. “The use of simple bright and dark lights combined with high-tech backdrops, not only let people see clearly what was happening on the stage, but also changed the scenes so rapidly that they appeared so vivid and lifelike, thereby drawing in the audience’s attention and making them feel part of the show. For example, as “Lady of the Moon” was presented, suddenly the performer was shown to be flying into the heavens, the perfect harmony of this scene shocked the audiences.”
Someone asked what it takes to understand Divine Performing Arts’ performances, Yang replied with a smile, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand Chinese or have an artistic background.” She said, “Whenever ‘Nymphs of the Sea’ was shown, I could hear a murmur of wonder and delight run through the audience, followed by continuous applause then. The fairies waved the fans so gracefully that you could feel as if the sea tides were coming towards you. The pure beauty of the artistry is beyond words. Anybody can understand it.”
Yang particularly mentioned how she noticed the clear presentation of the distinction between males and females which is part of the Chinese traditional culture. The dances clearly presented the sharp contrast between Yin and Yang.
“From the perspective of dance style, Chinese classical dance can be classified as civil or martial. Male dancers appear gentle, courteous and cultivated in civil dances, and virile and masculine in martial. A man should be like a man. Females are born to be elegant and pretty. Even though in martial dances they display animated courage, they should not lose the quality of feminine softness. These characteristics are neglected in modern popular performances. However, you can clearly distinguish these characteristics in the shows by Divine Performing Arts. They truly display authentic Chinese culture to the world.”
By Milene Wirth Fernandez and Joan Delaney, Epoch Times Staff, Mar 07, 2008-
“It’s a piece of home,” said La Hong in describing the Chinese Spectacular , currently playing at Vienna’s stately Stadtahalle, the oldest theatrical institution in the German-speaking world, dating back to the beginning of the 18th century.
An award-winning fashion designer, Hong is originally from Vietnam but has lived in Vienna for 27 years. He says the cultures of China and Vietnam are similar, and the Spectacular reminded him of the home he left many years ago.
“I have been away from home for so long that the show reminded me of home. It meant a lot to me. It is an honor for me to be here today, and I feel right at home. Putting it in general terms, the colors, the music and the dancers’ movements made me very happy. I experience the same colors and movements in my fashion creations.”
Hong commented on what the Spectacular meant for him.
“The show spoke to me about the inner senses that are inherent in all of us. Though we live in modern times, we must not forget that each of us has a depth, our origin. Everything these days, though, has strings attached to politics, all over the world — especially so in China.
“All of us on Earth would like to live in freedom, to move around where we wish, to achieve our best potential, to enrich everyone else’s lives. I think this is the actual meaning of this whole show, not merely the colors and music and movements, but the underlying message, as I said before — freedom.”
Hong said he primarily designs evening and bridal wear, and he commented on the colours and costumes in the show — which are all handmade — from the standpoint of a designer.
“My clothes collections are just as colorful as the show costumes we have seen today.
The colors serve a purpose and represent a playfulness; they express being part of our lives. Specially now, in the winter, the colors all around us are drab and there is a dampness. Seeing cheerful colors lifts our spirits.”
Hong worried that some in the audience may have not fully understood the more profound inner meaning of the acts.
“I am somewhat sad that most of the members in the audience have only a superficial grasp of the underlying message of these performances. Perhaps Westerners did understand what the dances try to convey, I am not sure, but I have understood their meaning! I wish more people would comprehend the meaning of these shows.
After another show in Vienna on Friday, the Spectacular will play in Bratislava on Sunday, carrying on to Prague for more shows next week. A total of 35 shows will be seen in 14 European countries.
“I am grateful to friends who told me about this show, it is fortunate that they asked me to come. This is the first time that I have seen such a good show — it is a great way of spreading a great culture.” more details please check this report from Tokyo, Japan
From NTDTV video on Youtube, of Shen Yun Performance, October 2006, by Qi XiaoChun-
Sometimes known in the West as the “Chinese violin” or “Chinese two-string fiddle,” Erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras.
The Erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which are two large tuning pegs, and at the bottom is a small resonator body (sound box) which is covered with python skin on the front (playing) end. Two strings are attached from the pegs to the base, and a small loop of string (qian jin) placed around the neck and strings acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the skin, holding a small wooden bridge in place. (wikipedia)
