(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