Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, September 4, 2008
Story appeared in ELK GROVE LAGUNA section, Page F6

“Love in Any Language … Straight from the Heart, Pulls Us All Together, Never Apart” was the theme of the recent trip to China for the Sacramento-based organization Galena Street East.

The group dazzled audiences in the cities of Beijing, Qinghuandao and Tianjin.

Galena Street East, California’s Young Performing Ambassadors, recently returned from an 11-day adventure as pre-Olympic guests and hosts of Music Celebrations International.

Richard and Jeri Clinger, directors, wanted this year to be a special year and to truly experience the theme of the Olympics – “One World, One Dream.”

The performers were able to share one of their numbers, “Love in Any Language,” at the Great Wall. The performers felt the power and determination of a culture full of heartache, oppression, pride and custom.

As Taylor Quist, a performer from Roseville, commented, “It was beautiful … thinking about how much time and effort it took them so long ago is really inspiring.”

The performance in Qinghuandao, 320 kilometers northeast of Beijing, was a thrilling opportunity to share song and dance with a community that had never experienced an American musical performance. The 1,200-seat auditorium was nearly full to capacity 45 minutes before show time. Townspeople, city and government officials, all showed their appreciation by waving hand clappers and glow sticks and proudly walking on stage with flowers and other gifts for the soloists.

Hailey Busath, a performer from east Sacramento, exclaimed, “Amazing! It makes you feel so wonderful to know that you are representing your country and showing your culture to a whole other nation.”

The Central Conservatory of Music was an unforgettable experience. It is difficult to express the warm hospitality we felt as we pulled up alongside the 53,000- square-meter campus and saw the students lined up waiting for our arrival. They clapped as we walked onto the campus. We exchanged a few dances and enjoyed an entertaining lunch with them as well.

The average 15-course meals became the delight of our group as the consensus was that we preferred “real” Chinese food. It was an eye-opener for many of our youths to see the respect of other teenagers and realize that many of these students make their homes, at a young age, on that campus to have a potential of a better life than their parents.

We do not know what it is to live in a nation with a rich culture and history that dates back thousands of years. We do not know what it feels like to have our young children go to a boarding school for music, dance, gymnastics, etc., so they can have a better life. We do not know what it must be like to live in a city like Beijing with 10 million people. We do not know what it would feel like to be restricted in our religious worship.

What we do know, however, is that we laugh at the same things, want our world to be a better place for our children and that music and dance truly unite us as a world.

Marnie Hill, a parent chaperone from Natomas, summed it up well when she said, “No matter what country we are in, people are people – they love their families, work hard and appreciate their culture. They have hopes, dreams and goals just like we do.”

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