Cynthia Chuang is an artist and jewelry designer. She and her husband Erh-Ping Tsai own the jewelry brand, Jewelry 10.
A few days ago Cynthia went to the Radio City Music Hall with some friends to watch NTDTV's Chinese New Year Splendor , and was deeply impressed by the artistic and spiritual value of the show. After the show Cynthia shared with the Epoch Times her feelings for the show from an artist's point of view.
With the keen observation of an artist, Cynthia immediately noticed the uniqueness of the backdrop. She said the animated backdrops in many programs are very impressive, such as that in "Lady of the Moon" which depicted nine Suns scorching the Earth. Excitedly she described how vividly the hot vapor rose from the browned mountains, and how Spring returned and brought everything back to life. "Much effort has been spent on the backdrop designs," she observed. "These are fabulous artistic creations."
Cynthia said that she had once helped designing a backdrop for a fund-raising party, so she knew how difficult to create such a huge backdrop with animated images in it. For example, Cynthia said, in the backdrop of another dance was a springtime scene with a pond of flowing water and sparkling waves. "Combining still and moving scenes into the backdrop requires superb professional skills and techniques," she said. "I tried to learn how they did it in the show when I was watching."
"This can only be accomplished through the sincere and perfect cooperation of all the members of a large team of artistic creation," Cynthia said with admiration. "I've never seen such a professional devotion by all team members before. It is really admirable!"
Cynthia appreciated the music as much as the visual effect. She especially favored the Erhu solo. "The young Erhu player Qi Xiaochun's solo performance was really world-class," she exclaimed. She said the solo struck her with a feeling that she had been searching for a long time, "At that moment, my mind was completely empty. I wanted to feel the music with my whole heart and soul. It still lingers in my mind."
"Everyone held their breaths and listened attentively, and their mind and emotions resonated with the music… Qi Xiaochun's Erhu performance has really reached such a realm." She described the music as silky yet forceful. "It is really not exaggeratory to describe it as shocking and soul-stirring," she said.
Cynthia said that everyone in the audience could find some part of the show that resonated with his or her heart. What has echoed with Cynthia was that "the dances have a strong ethnic flavor and they are rich in contents."
Cynthia loved many of the dances, such as "Nymphs of the Sea" and "Resounding Drums." "There were small drums in the front of the stage and big drums in the back; there were also armed chariots in the scene. Their placement on the stage has, in itself, conveyed a rich meaning and was of strong expressive power."
The profound cultural aspects of the show amazed Cynthia, especially because the ancient wisdom and philosophies are presented in such an entertaining way and touched people from different cultural backgrounds. "So many viewers from different nationalities all love this show!" she said.
Cynthia and her friend, Dr. Zhao Peiwen, a music professor of The Juilliard School in New York City, also commented on the dance-drama about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Professor Zhao said that the severity of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners had not been adequately depicted. "I've seen many photos about the brutal persecution. I think these photos should be projected onto the backdrop one by one, because sharp comparison is a good method in artistic presentation. The persecution is still going on now, so it is fully acceptable to project the real persecution photos onto the backdrop." Cynthia said she was moved by the girl in the dance who bravely protected her fellow practitioners from the policemen. She suggested that such themes should also be presented with other art forms such as movies and novels.
"The show is so great, and every one of the team has worked so hard," said Cynthia, smiling. "I had to do my best to cheer for them."
The Chinese New Year Splendor will conclude its run in New York on Saturday night, Feb. 9. For information on this and other shows in the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org . The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese New Year Splendor.
