Mrs. and Mr. Gaisin praise DPA for shedding light on the persecution of Falun Gong in China. (Yue Yun/Epoch Times Staff)

Accompanied by his wife, Mr. Gaisin, a Toronto-based theater and concert critic, hailed Friday night's Divine Performing Arts (DPA) show at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto as "very formal yet intimate."

"This opening, the very, very opening scene--you could hear people around us going 'WHOA!'" said a very impressed Mr. Gaisin at the intermission.

The opening piece, which depicts the beginning of China's 5,000-year-old culture a divine beings descend to the Earth, drew an emotional response from the audience.

He explained how the show just caught the audience's attention and elicited a very passionate response.

"The audience response was so obviously warm. And I think that the performers noticed that and responded accordingly."

"It was wonderful. The costuming was great, the smiles on everybody's face...that was the important part," echoed Mrs. Gaisin.

Divine Performing Arts takes its inspiration from 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and features many dances based on the myths and legends from that rich history.

A couple of the performances also examined modern day China and contemporary issues there. One dance, "Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution," tells the tale of a father who is persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. The fantastic scenes that ultimately unfold in this piece present a message of hope and bespeak a longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.

"I was very impressed with the way they presented it and the bravery to present something like that in a very public format. I admire such courage," said Mr. Gaisin.

"It was interesting to see how the little girl was just so dramatic about it--she was really part of it. She looked like she wasn't playing, she was in it," said Mrs. Gaisin.

Mr. Gaisin also noted the difference between the DPA production and the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics staged by the Chinese government last August, which he described as "antiseptic."

"This is the opposite. This is very formal and yet it's very intimate and I enjoyed it very much."

Divine Performing Arts will play five more shows in Toronto before moving on to Montreal and then Radio City Music Hall in New York.