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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 27, 2009

Unique show presents divine opportunity

By Dave Dondoneau
TGIF Editor

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The New York-based Divine Performing Arts troupe will put on three performances of traditional Chinese dance and music at the Blaisdell Concert Hall next week.

Divine Performing Arts

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DIVINE PERFORMING ARTS

7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (Additional matinee at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday)

$20 to $118

877-750-4400

www.ticketmaster.com

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What Divine Performing Arts is bringing to the Blaisdell Concert Hall next week cannot be shown in China.

And that, Hong Jiang said, makes their performances on Monday and Tuesday that much more valuable.

"Let me say it this way," said Jiang, who was who was born in China and now teaches Chinese studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. "With the Chinese government, you can't freely express these views, even at this time. So that makes this show more precious. The world can see these values that are being lost in modern China."

Divine Performing Arts is a classical Chinese dance and music troupe and orchestra with more than 100 artists. The troupe is on an 80-city tour that's taking them to more than 20 countries, including Japan.

China, however, is not on the tour schedule.

The shows are inspired by stories and legends of more than 5,000 years of Chinese culture. They tell their stories using classical dance as an art form.

"It is an absolutely gorgeous show," Jiang said. "I had one person tell me if you miss this show, you miss heaven. That's really how I feel."

Jiang laments the loss of traditional Chinese culture and values. She points to the rise of the communist government in China as to why the values stopped being taught in her home country.

Divine, she said, is intended to revive authentic Chinese traditions and values.

The troupe is based in New York.

"The values they are trying to express are goodness, compassion, virtue, loyalty, tolerance and hope," Jiang said. "It teaches to know that regardless of what we go through, hope is there. We keep the goodness in the culture and spread it to larger society in the world."

Divine performed just one sold-out show on O'ahu last year. This year, they added a second and third performance to accommodate the demand.

"All the material is new from last year," Jiang said. "What's great about this is it's just not Chinese people coming to it. This is something people all over the world are coming to."

Including some people from China. Jiang said parents of a friend, who now lives on O'ahu, are flying in specifically to catch Divine.

"This show is very meaningful to me," Jiang said. "A lot of us are volunteering our time so we can get them here."

While it is a family-friendly event, keiki under the age of 4 aren't permitted. Jiang said that's a rule the troupe enforces because it's a 2 1/2-hour show and and they want patrons to view it without interruption.

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.