“I think that there is a history of China that the large majority of the world doesn't understand. They understand Mao, and they understand the Cultural Revolution, and there's been a lot of beautiful history lost because of that,” said James Norris, a pilot. “To see the beauty portrayed in two hours of what was before communism is breathtaking.”
“It shows me that I don't know enough and that I want to learn more about the current situation in China and also what it used to be. But it's a good starting point to start thinking a little bit more,” said Alexander Kammermeier, a senior sourcing manager.
Kristie Dewey, a legal administrator at Philips 66, said: “I think what struck me during the performance is that we sometimes here view China in a very different light because of the communism, and just to see what the people and the beauty of China really is, without the communism, was something that was pretty eye-opening for me, and I really enjoyed the storytelling aspect of the dance. You didn't have to speak a word, but you could tell what the story was just by the emotions they put into their dancing.”
Through the medium of classical dance and music, the company takes theatergoers on a journey through China’s five millennia of history—from Tang Dynasty-inspired dances to soul stirring true stories regarding modern day communist China’s suppression of spirituality through human rights abuses, such as live organ harvesting of faith groups.
Ryan Krueger, a senior manager at Noble Drilling Services, said: “It's a difficult journey to not only follow your passion and what you're inspired to do, but also even more encouraging that somebody would have to stand up to their beliefs against maybe a political system that might try to subjugate that or control that. So even more of ... a beautiful expression to stand up to some challenges that might come from other sources.”
“I had no idea that ... they had experienced that in their personal lives as well. I think it's very, very impressive that they can come out and show the rest of the world what they've gone through and to turn those life experiences into something they can put on stage and share with the rest of the world. That must be difficult, and it's very impressive,” said Lindsey Kammermeier, a biomedical engineer at NASA.
Ancient Chinese people believed that their culture was bestowed by the divine. Its values are rooted in spirituality and were brought to life on stage.
Mr. Norris said: “There's an interesting quote that was mentioned in one of the songs that basically, truth will lead you to salvation. And no matter what religion you are with, no matter what you believe, truth will always lead you salvation.”
“I just think that we are very spiritual people as well. We have a deep Christian faith here and I think that what I saw was another side of the spirituality and the faith of the Chinese people, and how strong it is and where their roots come from, and they were all really coming from the same being, just in different ways,” said Ms. Dewey.
