Ties to Falun Gong add controversy to the Chinese New Year Spectacular
Secret connection
PROMOTIONAL fliers for NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular -- a lavish multimillion-dollar production opening Jan. 18 at the Nokia Theatre -- describe the show as a celebration of "The Renaissance of Divine Chinese Arts." Featured on the colorful handout are dancers in traditional costumes, whirling ribbons and review quotes that deem the show "fabulous," "beautiful" and "astonishing."
What the fliers don't say is that NTDTV -- New Tang Dynasty Television -- is a New York City-based, nonprofit satellite broadcaster operated by a staff that includes members of a relatively new spiritual sect called Falun Gong. The production has met with controversy at virtually every stop of its tour because of the perceived connection between the Chinese New Year Spectacular and the religious group.
Falun Gong or Falun Dafa -- system of mind and body cultivation that was introduced to the public in China in 1992 -- has been banned by China's communist government. The Chinese government has denounced the international touring production of the Chinese New Year Spectacular -- now in its fifth year and visiting Los Angeles for the third time -- and has pressured companies to cancel their support.
Pressure from the Chinese government has reared its head in Southern California: In a Dec. 17 letter, China's consulate general asked Orange County not to recognize the Chinese New Year Spectacular performances in Los Angeles and others scheduled for mid-January at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Earlier this year, a letter urging a boycott of a New York show arrived at the office of a state assemblyman there.
Representatives for the Chinese New Year Spectacular would not reveal the cost of the show, which contains computerized visual elements and live fireworks, except to say it is in the multimillions. "Everything is very elaborately prepared," says spokesman James White. "It is a state-of-the-art show."
At the core of the spectacle, according to Simone Gao, one of the show's producers, are large-scale classical Chinese dances with as many as 60 dancers backed by a live orchestra. The production features instrumental performances, including a soloist playing the erhu, a stringed Chinese instrument.
