NEW YORK -On Tuesday evening, February 5, Vidor Nosce, a tax attorney from the Philippines now living in New York, and Maria Mercado, an advertising executive from New York attended the Chinese New Year Splendor.
Nosce grew up in the Philippines and has had a lot of exposure to Chinese culture since he was young. He enjoys playing Mahjong, and was aware of some cultural tid-bits about Chinese people and their culture because the Philippines have been influenced by the Chinese.
He has learned a lot about Feng Shui and has arranged his house according to the principles of Feng Shui. He reads books about Chinese culture and is quite interested. He said that he thought many of the principles in Feng Shui were based on common sense, and also that there were some mysterious elements. He and Maria plan to go out to dinner in Chinatown on Chinese New Year's day.
Nosce said, "I want to learn even more about the Chinese culture. Those backdrops were amazing, showing the tranquil scenery, blooming rice fields, and temples. The show's expression of religion in China was amazing."
Ms. Mercado interjected, "I want to go to China now!" and Nosce agreed, "It's really elegant, beautiful."
His favorite during the first half, he said, "was the 'Nymphs of the Sea.' Those wrist movements were like imitating water, imitating the waves."
Mercado said, "It seems like the singers did not need to use microphones, their voices were so powerful!"
Nosce added, "The photography was amazing, the use of images to create the environment -I thought I was in Disneyland."
Then talking about the blend of Western and Chinese instruments Nosce said, " To be honest, I did not even notice, it was really seamless. The orchestra was great, it really brought out the traditional Chinese sounds. I wanted to know about that instrument she played -the erhu, I wish she had held it up for us to see more closely. That was very beautiful. I think it brought out the essence of the Chinese race."
Later he commented, "Come to think of it, I noticed more Feng Shui aspects on the second half. The 9 Suns vignette ['Lady of the Moon'] with Phoenixes morphing into suns, the Vanished Dreams ['A Vanished Dream'] sequence where there was a giant 'Double Happiness' calligraphy in the center, and a matrimonial bed with a circular arch towards the right, and my new favorite part: Grace and Beauty ['Lightness and Grace'] with more of the fan dance but this time they were dressed in green and pink to match the lotus plants in the background. Seems that one is fine, two is great, but 25 undulating dancers is just marvelous to behold. And the Mongolian Chopstick dance ['Chopstick Zest'] was the best among the male ensemble numbers … And yes ... there were always an odd number of performers on stage -even a 21 drum salute at the end!"
And in conclusion Mercado summed it up, "This was really cultural, a much more cultural show than others."
The Chinese New Year Splendor continues in New York through Saturday, Feb. 9. For other shows in the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: http://www.DivinePerformingArts.org/ .
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese New Year Splendor.