“I thought it was one of the best performances I’ve seen in many, many years,” said Barker. “It was high energy, it was interesting, the color and movement and the music was absolutely extraordinary. And I especially liked the stories behind it, absolutely my wife and I loved it.”
“Five thousand years of civilization, that’s incredible. And to see the art, the movement, the music, I thought it was incredible and it’s great to see it being celebrated in Australia,” said Barker. “We’re home to a large Australian Chinese diaspora, and many people probably don’t have a really good appreciation of just how deep that culture is. And it’s great to see it being celebrated in Australia so people like myself who don’t have that background can get a better understanding of it.”
Ancient China was once known as “The Land of the Divine,” where it was believed that culture was bestowed by the heavens. This was reflected in music, medicine, calligraphy, clothing, language, and much more.
“I think it’s important for all of us to have a belief in a higher power, and that we owe one another as human beings and whoever our Creator may be, the best service of ourselves, and I thought that came through,” Barker said. “And I also really enjoyed the modern stories and some of the stories of some of the [Falun Gong] practitioners and how they’ve suffered under the Chinese Communist Party. I found that quite moving.”
Barker added that “there’s a level of forgiveness as well despite some of characters being treated poorly by others. There was a redemption and a forgiveness there I thought that was really touching.”
“I think many of us as Australians probably struggle with one-party Leninist dictatorships; we’re used to a democracy where people can practice their faith, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly—these are rights we hold to be inalienable in Australia,” Barker said. “I think people celebrating that, whether it’s Falun Gong, whether it’s Christians like myself gathering for our faith, that’s an important part of our society, so I think it’s been great. I’m thrilled it’s come to Melbourne. I’ll be coming again next year.”
