“The beauty and the absolute grace, I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’m a real theatregoer.”

“They are absolutely stunning, they are almost spiritual, they are just so beautiful. And the power and passion, unbelievable! I am very, very blessed to have been here this evening to see this.”

“I absolutely have got to come again. It’s not one of those performances that you can see once. You absolutely have to see it more than that. It’s absolutely fabulous.”

“I’m a police officer, so for me, dealing with the very harsh side of life, to be able to come and see something so beautiful it absolutely restores my faith in humanity. ... It means an awful lot to me. I can take that with me each day I patrol … it’s nice to have in your heart the beautiful memories of something that is just so beautiful.”

“What I found is sad is that the actual Chinese people in China are prevented from seeing such beautiful history and culture. I don’t have the words to describe how confused I am by that because this is your history, your culture, something from which you should be so proud, and yet you aren’t allowed to express that in your homeland.

“To not be free to me is the most terrible thing for anybody to have to endure, and to not be free to express your history and such amazing talent is an absolute sacrilege, it really is.”

“I have been so blessed to enjoy the beauty and magnificence of this performance, my heart is sad that many Chinese people are prevented from seeing this, and that is so wrong.”

“[Art and dance] is an amazing way to express the feelings of a culture and to express the feelings of the people. And you can never, ever suppress that. That free spirit will always, always find a way through. And that is hope. And that is something that whatever your race or your religion---[hope] is there for everybody, and I think that has come through in this performance this evening. Hope for not just Chinese people but for everybody.”

“The [performers] are almost beyond human; they’re like spiritual. There is just an amazing message of hope and love. And that is so important because, certainly for me in my line of work, I see harshness, I see tragedy, I see pain every single day, so for me, as a police officer who is patrolling the street every single day, to see something as beautiful as this---it lifts my spirits, it lifts my soul.”

“It’s almost as if someone has placed their hands on my shoulders and lifted a burden from me. You can’t ask for more than that. It’s beautiful.”

“If there was ever an angel placed upon this earth with a voice connected to the Almighty [it is the soprano]. To be given a gift like that is a gift from something that is not of this world. That’s a real blessing, and I was very privileged to hear it this evening.”

“It gives you faith in mankind, and sometimes our faith is really, really tested when we see the terrible things that we do to each other, and it’s almost as if you’re stepping out of the real world just for a moment, just for a moment to restore your soul. And I sort of feel like that’s what’s happened this evening.

“My soul has been restored. And I am very, very grateful for that, so thank you very much.”