United States: New York Audience Member: "We Are Here For a Reason"

The third performance of the Chinese New Year Splendor opened at Radio City Music Hall on February 1st, 2008. The show drew families from different walks of life, who shared their enjoyment of and praise for the Splendor.

Shayla Dottolin from Long Island, who has retired from the airline industry, arrived with her husband, Ed Dottolin, a retired law professor. Shayla said, "It's very interesting, very beautiful. I like the singer - we call him the Irish tenor. I thought the dances were outstanding. It must have taken a long time, many years to be able to dance like that."

Jack Block, a retired insurance agent from North Carolina said, "The color was just really outstanding, and the dancing was really good and the singing was outstanding.

"Sometimes we forget that China is so oppressed as a communist country, because they are growing so fast and their economy seems to be getting stronger. It's good for us to be reminded of that."

His wife, June Block, retired from Wachovia Bank, said the show was "wonderful" and "quite different from what I had expected."

Alan and Bruni were both in high spirits after seeing the show. Alan said what touched him the most was, "The spiritual aspect. The higher power, the creator, living many lives and believing that we're here for a reason. We're not just passing through, there's more to it than that."

Ebo, who immigrated from Nigeria and currently lives in New York, expressed her excitement about the show: "Wonderful, wonderful. It's great, excellent! It's a beautiful exposure of Chinese culture to everybody here...Chinese culture is deep, very deep."

She added, "We loved the drums, because we play a lot of drums in Nigeria."