(Clearwisdom.net) Divine Performing Arts' Chinese New Year Spectacular captivated audiences at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington, on Sunday, January 18.
Christopher Knap is in the business of teaching Western musicians how to market themselves. He said, "I work with Western musicians, rock and roll, jazz, blues, and I help them put out their CDs and the business side, the marketing--I teach them how to do all that."
When asked about the show, he replied, "I didn't know that gymnastics were based on all these art forms in China. I have to bring a friend whose daughter does gymnastics--she'll love the dances. I liked it a lot."
Concerning the backdrops and the music, he stated, "I'd like to know how you do the backdrops. I don't know the secret--is it a combination of film...and digital? How do they do the background? Because it is done so beautifully."
Mr. Knap was most impressed by the second piece: "I thought that the part before the intermission was the best part...I like drummers and there were two [pieces with drummers] in the first half. It was very unique. The synchronization--all of them played together. I used to be a drummer when I was a kid, and that's hard to do. That was my favorite part."
Other parts that impressed him were: "Number one to me were the colors of the costumes--they were just mind-boggling. Where do you get those colors, where do you get the dye to make these amazing colors? You don't see them except in a movie--you don't see them in real life that much."
When he found out that they were all made by hand, he said: "WOW, it must be a very special art form they use to make these colors!"
Concerning the culture that was depicted in the show, he said, "The fact that I learned these cultural things made the whole show worthwhile, and the beautiful dancing, that was my favorite part."
Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts