Artist: 'I could feel that I had internalized the beauty'

Jan 22, 2009

PORTLAND--Ms. Collins, artist and California College of the Arts graduate attended Tuesday's Portland debut of the Divine Performing Arts World Tour 2009. She was very impressed with the show and intrigued by the way she "internalized" its beauty. "I was uplifted by this show. It was very beautiful and I could feel that I had internalized the beauty of nature through the dances and the costumes."

Currently creating stain glass pieces, Ms. Collins could greatly appreciate all the color and choreography and costumes of the DPA performance. She said, "I was really impressed by all the different colors that were involved and the way the different colors and different shapes were formed and represented through the costumes and the movement. They were representational of the elements that they were expressing, like you could definitely see the flowers and the mountain tops and the wind, and it all came together very beautifully. I really enjoyed that."

Ms. Collins especially enjoyed the 'Dance of the Snow Capped Mountain.' "It seemed to embody what that feels like. I could imagine the Tibetan mountains and the higher elements and it seemed like those spirits moved through those dances, it was really nice."

The performance she referred to shows young Tibetan men, undaunted by snow and the elements, vigorously celebrating the joys of the Tibetan steppes as they spun, stomped, and stepped in an extravagant gestures of welcoming. Long sleeves, sturdy boots, and colorful prayer beads captured the energy and character of these vibrant people.

Ms. Collins was interested in seeing how many different cultures influenced each other and people are all connected. "I was taken how many more cultures are involved in the Chinese culture, I could see the Mongolian influence, Tibetan influence...All these things kind of come together because none of us are isolationists and we live on our borders so the different cultures blend and so we're a blend of those cultures and I could see those things coming through also. It was very beautiful."

Ms. Collins would recommend the DPA shows to her friends and colleagues as she thinks they would really learn a lot in "very unexpected ways".

The Divine Performing Arts Company returns to New York for performances at Radio City Music Hall and other New York and New Jersey locations.