“We were so excited to come, finally, and being able to see all of the dancers, all the choreography, all of the music, the orchestra,” Denyse said. “It’s life-changing because visually, everyone’s coming together on stage to show you that the history and the idea of the arts and respecting the arts clearly has made all of the country a better place, and the arts make the entire world a better place.”

“The fact that it’s so uplifting, full of joy and full of inspiration, is how it should be. That’s what we need during these times right now,” she said.

Denyse also reflected on the positive messages that the performance gave her.

“We’re caught up in a lot of the MTV generation, lots of pain, and lots of sadness,” she said. “So, when you can come to a place where everyone understands that you’ve got to find it from within, and from the heavens as well ... to be better when everyone is joyous, and everyone shares and everyone tries to uplift everybody else, the world is a better place.”

She added that with positive arts, the receiver is also touched with positivity.

“We should be influenced by what is going to make us better people,” she said. “The word is positive revolutionary, arts are revolutionary, dance is revolutionary. And that’s what it brings out of you. It brings smiles and laughter and companionship and ways to show that we know if we’re connected in a positive way, then the world can be a better place.”

“I think we'll continue to come every year now and I’m sure it’s different every year too. It’s a great production,” she said.

“It’s the fact that they gave us a sense of what China was really like and we had no idea. And even with pictures and dance, you can pick up so much from history. No words have to be told,” Alyce said.