United States: Divine Performing Arts Troupe Holds Press Conference in New York on Upcoming Holiday Wonders Show

The first show of the Holiday Wonders will be held by NTDTV in New York City and Baltimore on December 18th. On December 13th, the Divine Performing Arts troupe held a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York City. Several major dancers and singers met the media. Mr. Guan Guimin, director of the troupe, said that by demonstrating the beautiful, pure and compassionate traditional Chinese culture, the show is one of the most unique performances in the world. The troupe will hold the shows in more than 60 cities around the world, and more than 600 thousand people will watch it.

Press conference

From left to right: Guan Guimin, Li Weina, Wang Xuejun, Chen Ying (stage director) and Leeshai Lemish (host of the show)

Liu Tianyi, a dancer of the troupe

Zhao Liang, a dancer of the troupe

Su Xianzi, a dancer of the troupe

Xiong Junxiu, a dancer of the troupe

The Purpose of the Show is to Revive Traditional Chinese Culture

Mr. Guan Guimin expressed that the shows will not contain any "Party culture," referring to the negative influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on modern Chinese society. The members of the troupe are Chinese artists living in North America. Mr. Guan said, "Our purpose is to revive the traditional Chinese culture."

Mr. Guan said, "Chinese people had the tradition of respecting gods and nature, but the CCP promotes a fighting culture and has ruined the traditional Chinese culture. Artists in China do not have freedom to create pure Chinese arts."

Mr. Guan also said, "Many members of the troupe were freed of Party culture after they came to Western society and were exposed to ideas and values that they could not find in China."

Dance director Wang Xuejun pointed out, "Many Westerners believe that the dances and vocal performances they see in China manifest the Chinese culture. But they are mistaken. The dances and vocal performances in China have all been polluted by the Party culture." He said, "When I was an actor in China, we always had to add praises to the CCP into our performances."

Mr. Wang Xuejun said, "It is very easy to judge if a performance is traditional and pure or not. Everyone has compassion in his heart. The performances are pure and traditional if they can truly touch people's hearts."

Mr. Chen Rutang, the conductor of the Tianyin Orchestra, is the former director of the Symphony Troupe of the China Central Orchestra, principal cellist and first-class national performer in China. He said that many Chinese artists in his generation were persecuted by the CCP, so many of them are willing to do something to revive traditional Chinese culture.

Dancers: "We are proud to be involved."

The main dancers and dance director of the troupe, Wang Xuejun and Li Weina, graduated from Beijing Dance College. They played Yue Fei and Yue Fei's mother in the gala last year. Wang Xuejun said that Holiday Wonders is unique because it is the only large scale performance which showcases pure traditional Chinese culture.

In 2007, the Divine Performing Arts troupes toured in more than 30 cities in North American, Australia, Asia and Europe and held more than 80 shows. More than 200 thousand people watched the performances. The audience was very touched by the performances, and many were moved to tears. The public and media gave very favourable reviews of the shows.

Li Weina and Wang Xuejun both said that they learned a lot and improved themselves during the performances. They have better understanding of traditional Chinese culture and learned how to incorporate Chinese culture into the dance performances.

Media reporter: "You have done a lot to promote Chinese culture."

At the press conference, a Chinese media reporter, who watched the show last year, said that he grew up in Taiwan, and he is familiar with traditional Chinese culture, so he always felt that the performances from Mainland China were strange. He said, "I said to myself, 'This is real Chinese culture,' when I was watching the Divine Performing Arts last year. I think you (the troupe) have done a lot to promote the traditional Chinese culture."

Young dancers: Striving to be a good person first, then a good dancer

Some members of the troupe grew up in North America. How do they understand Chinese culture? Xiong Junxiu, the dancer who played Guanyin in the shows last year, came to America after high school. She said that the CCP's education of Chinese history is empty and brainwashes students. Xiong Junxiu was criticised for lacking compassion and smiling during the rehearsals last year. She looked inward and realised that to be a good performer, she needs to be a good person first, and to play Guanyin - a compassionate god, she herself needs to be compassionate.

Holiday Wonders Will Bring New Surprises to the Audience

Ms. Chen Ying, the stage director of the troupe, said that the tickets were sold out last year, and they had to add a few extra shows in Taiwan to satisfy the audience. She summarised the reasons why the shows were so popular and highly evaluated: 1) The historic stories are touching; 2) The artists are very professional and skillful; 3) The orchestra perfectly combines Eastern and Western instruments and music; 4) The stage background was elaborately designed.

Ms. Chen said that the audience was surprised by the combination of traditional arts and modern high technology.

Ms. Chen also mentioned that the troupe will split into two sub-teams to tour in more than 60 cities this year.

Li Zong, the CEO of NTDTV, said that the shows this year will bring surprises to the audience again.