“It was an uplifting performance. It was very spiritual, and it started off that way because they explained that spirituality in China was very, very strong—always has been—though it’s an Eastern faith, but it’s always looking for someone or something above us, which is a key thing. Dafa—in essence, to me, that’s God, from a Christian perspective. … I really felt the connection.”  [Dafa, mentioned in the song “New Awareness” and the dance “Boundless Compassion,” means “Great Way,” principles of the universe.]

“I’m of Armenian descent. … The dances, though they were different, told a similar story. There was always hope. There was always joy. That’s how they survived—with the hope, the faith, the joy, the music always part of our humanness.”

“Tell [the artists] they did an excellent, excellent job because the message came across, and if the people didn’t get it, it means they’ve been blinded by the dark side.”

“The [dance] that affected people the most was the flower dance [‘Yellow Blossoms’] when they all came together at the end with the yellow flowers. That really inspired everybody, as well as the umbrella dance. You remember these things that impacted you, and I loved the one about the monk—Super Monk!”