DPA consists of three dance companies, two orchestras, and a host of choreographers, composers, costume designers, backdrop artists, and artistic staff. It "seeks to breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing audiences everywhere with an experience of sublime beauty." Its performances have been described by reviewers as "incredible," "vigorous," "nimble," "astounding," "stunning," and "brilliant." This annual gala is one cultural event that I look forward to with great expectation and wouldn’t miss for the world. It is not only an exhilarating feast for the senses, but also a wonderful example of morally and spiritually uplifting entertainment.
Attendees from all walks of life and from cities around the world have critiqued the show positively. Their enthusiastic, impromptu reviews (print and video) can be viewed here.
Most of the DPA performers are also practitioners of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa), a Chinese exercise and spiritual movement. The Falun Gong, via Confucius and Buddha, adhere to ancient Chinese values of truth, compassion, and tolerance (forbearance). Members of Falun Gong gather to practice exercises in large groups. China, forever fearful of public protests of its tyranny, kleptocracy, and repression from any large group outside its control, is bothered greatly by the Falun Gong. Moreover, because the beliefs of the Falun Gong are seen as a threat to communist rule in China, that country’s communist leaders find the Falun Gong intolerable and imprison thousands in the Lao Gai, China’s equivalent to the Soviet Union’s Gulag Archipelago. China often kills imprisoned members of the Falun Gong and harvests their live organs. China, unlike the civilized world, has little to no waiting period for a heart, lung, or kidney transplant. DPA also works to gain freedom for all Chinese, making it a target of China’s government.
China’s reach extends into the United States. Inside the USA, Beijing’s Communist Party has gained control over virtually all Chinese-language media. The outstanding exceptions are the Epoch Times, New Tang Dynasty TV, and Sound of Hope Radio. These media provide Falun Gong with worldwide media reach. These efforts focus both upon the Chinese American community and Chinese in mainland China. Inside China, it is believed that Falun Gong’s emphasis upon traditional Chinese culture may be more effective than the U.S. Government’s Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Members of Falun Gong, many holding American Ph.D. degrees, live modestly to support their vision of a free China friendly to America.
At a time when the Chinese communists are holding such sway over the United States and when the United States government is taking actions that China’s government might admire in the financial sector — the Chinese are sharing nuclear missiles technology with Iran, the U.S. Treasury is dependant upon Chinese purchases of U.S. Treasury Bills, U.S. corporations are assisting the communists in suppressing free thought on the Internet, American companies are bribing Chinese officials and profiting from Chinese slave labor, and United States is in the midst of nationalizing banks, stock brokers, insurance companies, and auto manufacturers — it is good that someone is fighting the evils of communism with such artistic flourishes. Perhaps the good and decent will prevail.
Although Divine Performing Arts’ spectacular program has already finished its 2009 U.S. run in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle, there are still opportunities to experience this excellent artistry from January through March at venues in Dallas, St. Louis, Memphis, Little Rock, Tulsa, Augusta, New York City, Newark, Denver, and other cities. Check out the dates and times for your region here.
Dr. Roger Canfield, an occasional contributor to The New American, is the author of China’s Trojan Horses (milmag.com) describing Beijing’s spy network in the USA, and Stealth Invasion, which exposes the threat America faces from the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and other Communist Chinese corporate fronts operating here.
