(Clearwisdom.net) INDIANAPOLIS--University professor of Music, Professor Hurst, and his wife were amongst the audience at the Murat Theatre enjoying the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Spectacular on Saturday January 31.

Professor Hurst said that they really enjoyed the DPA performances and the music.

He added that they also liked the choreography very much, saying, "We think it's unique."

Mrs. Hurst continued, "And I liked the freedom of movement that they're showing... This is so incredible and somehow it just draws you right in, everything that they've done, I'm just absolutely fascinated."

Mrs. Hurst could remember that she was really drawn into the performance with the "long sleeves," "Flowing Sleeves." She started saying, "Yes, I thought that was very... " and Professor Hurst ended the sentence for her by saying, "poetic."

"Yes, very. That touched me the most, I think of all of them," she said.

Draped in long, flowing, silken sleeves, the tremendous feminine grace of this ensemble is reminiscent of the women of the celebrated Tang imperial court (618-907CE). Their elegance and majestic bearing suggest the magnificence of that era--often regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese civilization.

Mrs. Hurst added, "It was poetic. It was just gentle, very gentle and kind. It's all that way actually. And I like the fact that they dare to be so free in their expression."

That was the difference that Mrs. Hurst saw in DPA that she did not see in China. "That's it exactly, because any affiliation that we've had before was with China and we see the strictness there and it's nice to see the freedom here that these people have, not only in movement but also expression," she said.

Divine Performing Arts, a New York-based performance company founded by leading Chinese artists, is seeking to revive China's traditional culture and present it to audiences around the world through Chinese classical dance and music.

January 31, 2009

Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts