(Clearwisdom.net)

Peter Desmares moved to Chicago from Holland in 1954, when he was hired by a large U.S. company as an engineer. At that time, ten engineers were hired by this company from Holland because of a shortage of engineers during the Korean War. After watching the Chinese New Year Spectacular, Mr. Desmares exclaimed, "I loved the show--every split second of it! This is the first time I have ever seen a show of this kind. Next year I am going to see it again, I can tell you that!" When asked how he heard of the Spectacular, he said, "I came because a girl passed out a flier to me on the street downtown. And I said 'Hey, wait a second, I want to see this.' So I called and got a ticket."

Mr. Desmares could not pick a favorite performance, as he enjoyed the whole show. He especially appreciated the chance to learn more about Chinese culture. "I liked every section of it! It is artistic and beautiful. The cultural content, I find very interesting too! I was brought up in Holland, where there are so many different cultures. The [Chinese] culture is quite different from the European culture."

The Rapp family also stopped to share their impressions with the reporter. They are Betsy Rapp (who is in advertising), James Rapp (a high school senior) and Nicole Rapp (a high school sophomore). With great enthusiasm, they all chimed in. James commented first, "It is our first time here. I am actually studying Chinese right now in high school. So, it was really interesting, I'm really into the culture and the language, and everything. It was really good exposure to traditional Chinese culture and just really getting an overall feel for how it's developed over the years. It was just really amazing. I really like it with all the art and dancing and everything. It was just wonderful." Nicole then commented, "Everything was really beautiful, and the movements were all really together. It was very spiritual. I really enjoyed it. " Betsy then followed, "I loved it too. Being somewhat of a Buddhist myself and being into a lot of different cultural things that are involved with Asia, I was very inspired. Everything was beautiful, and I loved the backdrops. It was a very spiritual experience. Beautiful!"

James Rapp studies Chinese in high school

Regarding their favorite performances Nicole said, "I liked the act with the chopsticks, I thought it was really cool!" James replied, "The drumming sequences were really cool. I used to play percussion, so I'm really into the beat and everything."

Betsy added, "I think it was also very mind-opening. We tend to close ourselves off from things and not pay attention to other cultures. And I think it was a great way to introduce oneself to Chinese culture and get more into it. And hopefully want to learn more afterwards."