“Love in Any Language”
A Salute to China
By Alison Busch

“Love in any language…straight from the heart, pulls us all together, never apart” was the theme for the Sacramento based organization, Galena Street East, as they dazzled audiences in the cities of Beijing, Qinghuandao, and Tianjin. Galena Street East, California 's Young Performing Ambassadors, who have been touring the world for the past 36 years, just returned from an 11-day adventure as pre-Olympic guests and hosts of Music Celebrations International.

What began as an adventure abroad, and a little apprehension about a communist country, along with a difficult foreign language - really became a life long passion for the love of the Chinese people. As Angelica Whaley, a 15-year old performer recounted, “People are the same all over the world.” Chris Chavez, a parent chaperone, shared the same feeling, “The people of China are just like the people of America ; no matter what sort of political rhetoric is going on between the leaders of our two nations, the countries are best represented by the ‘ground level' decency and compassion of their citizens.”

We respected the rich history of the Ming tombs, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven , and Tiananmen Square . We applauded the Chinese acrobats. We competed to see who could get the best deal on our shopping sprees. We marveled at the works of art that we witnessed at the Cloisonné and silk factories.

Galena directors, Richard and Jeri Clinger, are c elebrating 36 years of performing and educating youth in the Sacramento Valley . They were recently selected as the “2008 Best of Sacramento” by KCRA Channel 3 and won the “Best of Sacramento of 2006” by Sacramento Magazine. Galena was also selected to be featured performers at Governor Schwarzenegger's 2007 Inauguration Ceremony. Performers have become a favorite at Disneyland , on cruise ships, and as young performing ambassadors throughout the world. They have represented their city and nation in such places as Europe, Asia, Australia , South America, and the Czech Republic , as well as all across  America. 

The Clinger's wanted this year to be a special one with the Olympic torch flaming in the city of Beijing . They wanted Galena performers 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, in uniform skirts, ties, and slacks, felt the power and determination of a culture full of heartache, oppression, and rich custom. The performers felt that compassion as they stood on the ground of one of the Seven Wonders of the World and sang about love. As Taylor Quist, a 15-year old performer commented, “It was beautiful…thinking about how much time and effort it took them, so long ago – it's really inspiring.” Another performer, Daniella Teerlink, also shared her thoughts, “…overwhelming with such emotion.”

The performance in Qinghuandao, 320 km 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. They were such an enthusiastic audience, complete with city and government officials. They showed their appreciation by waving hand clappers, glow sticks, and walking on stage with flowers and other gifts for the soloists. Hailey Busath, a 17-year old performer 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.” Hailey's mother, Lisa, commented, “The world is a much smaller place than we think it is.”

Although we toted our Chinese language maps, it became more of an adventure to try and get the Chinese to speak English. The Chinese folks were just as eager to learn English as we were to learn Chinese. Our youth performers mastered the art of chopsticks, much to the glee of their Chinese friends. Upon completion or our tour of the Central Conservatory of Music, we shared our love of food with a group of students who attend the 53,000 square meter campus.

It is difficult to express the overwhelming warm hospitality we felt as we pulled up alongside the campus and saw the students lined up waiting for our arrival. They clapped as we walked on to the campus. We exchanged a few dances and enjoyed an entertaining lunch with them as well. The Chinese performers smiled as we told them that we realized the culinary experience in China was a little different than in America . The average 15 course meals became the delight of our group and the overall consensus was that we much preferred the ‘real' Chinese food.

It was an eye-opener for our group to see the respect of other teenagers and realize that many of these students make their home, at such a young age, on that campus so they have the potential of a better life than that of their parents.

Galena Street East has received many accolades throughout their 36 years of performing. “ Learning to serve the community with your talents is one of the main goals of Galena Street East ,” states director Jeri Clinger. “Certainly, as directors, we are interested in developing great performers, but our main focus is to develop great individuals who perform.  Music and dance are our mediums to accomplish our goal. The students at the Central Conservatory were so well toned, polished, and refined with their dance. As our Galena performers witnessed such precision, it gave them an opportunity to see others who work just as hard as they do and to understand that it is a life long process. It was very motivating to us as we all strive to work hard at sharing our talents with others.”

The Chinese teenagers and children thoroughly enjoyed having their pictures taken – a worldwide concept. We did not have to look far to see teenagers spinning their cell phone and personal cameras around and clicking photos of themselves, either singular or with friends. The universal peace sign still reigns, even in China , and we smiled as the Chinese children, teenagers, and adults alike, posed with that universal peace sign – two fingers in the shape of a ‘V'. It truly would be a victory if the entire world really understood that we are more ‘the same' than we are ‘different'. Perhaps then we would truly see long-lasting peace.

Richard and Jeri Clinger echoed the sentiments of the 66 performers and parents when they shared these comments. “ Our performing tour to China was a great experience from everyone's perspective. It more than met our expectations. The concert halls were fabulous and the audiences were packed and enthusiastic." Richard added, "Our youth had interactions with heads of government, students and other performers." Jeri concluded, "It was an incredible feast of beautiful sights and wonderful people.

Our host and guide, Mr. Sheldon Poon, introduced us to a China with a rich historical legacy and new sensations of Western influences. We saw China in a way not dreamed of 15 years ago or even 5 years ago. We made some life long acquaintances. We will never look at China in the same way again."

We do not know what it is to live in a nation with a rich culture and history that dates back thousands of years BC. We do not know what it feels like to have our young children go away to a boarding school for music, dance, or gymnastics – so they can have a better life. We do not know what it must be like to live in a city of 10 million people, such as Beijing . 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; we 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, 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.” In additional words from the song “Love in Any Language”, Galena performers sang out, “When we learn to speak it, all the world will hear, love in any language, fluently spoken here.”