Epoch Times: Former Dancer - Roots of Many Dance Styles in Chinese Classical Dance

(Clearwisdom.net) The closing performance of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour at Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall was possibly even more vibrant, stunning, and enthusiastically received by the audience than the opening show on Dec. 22.

The production, featuring a blend of Eastern and Western musical styles infused with traditional Chinese culture, offered audiences graceful dancing, exciting acrobatics, powerful and beautiful solo singers, and colorful costumes, all presented before a stunning, computer-generated interactive backdrop that seemed to become one of the performers in the show.

Audience members had only high praise for the performance. Ms. Handel, formerly a professional dancer, is well-acquainted with Western dance styles. This was her first exposure to Chinese classical dance.

"I think it is fascinating to see different cultures' different ways of interpreting dance, body position... I look at this from a dancer's point of view. The different body positions, the different formations... And the fluidity is beautiful. They have such lightness, very beautiful lightness, like floating. I love it."

Ms. Handel was equally impressed by the computer-generated backdrop. "Visually it is beautiful," she said. "It really adds a lot." She also commented on how precise and expressive the dancers' hand gestures were.

"All of the dancers are trained in traditional Chinese dancing. I see the hand positions--they are very unusual compared to the dance we are used to seeing. And also, the way they move on the stage is very different from Western dance. Think how in modern dance, how people move on the stage. It's very different. I love it."

"And I like the costumes. I know what effort it takes to make these costumes. Very beautiful."

Ms. Handel noticed in the show's Chinese classical dance a lot of forms, postures, and movements that she had seen in other dance styles from around the world. Upon reflection, she said she realized that China, with its culture stretching back 5,000 years, was the source and inspiration for the dance movements she had seen in other places.

"I can see that other countries took from the Chinese, a lot of movement, a lot of arts. The Chinese did it first.

"I am very happy I came. It took a lot of effort to get a ride and drive all this way, and I am very glad I came to this performance."

December 23, 2008