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As an outcome of the years of exchange in arts education, some principal policy-makers in China became convinced of the significance of arts in general education, and impressed with the achievement in this area of American scholars and art teachers.
The Center’s concern with arts education grew out of its realization that exclusive commitment to professional artists and their public would eventually prove to be short-sighted. Children are our future — in life and in the arts. Arts education must be aimed at future generations. This conviction also led to cooperation with Jacques d’Amboise and the National Dance Institute… After jointly designing the project, the Center was able to quickly convince China to send abroad, for the very first time, a delegation of some fifty-six children — dancers and musicians aged 8 to 13 — to perform with about 1500 American children [in d’Amboise’s “Event of the Year” at the Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum] on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the National Dance Institute in 1986.
The impact of the Center's projects on individuals in China is not limited to artists, scholars, teachers, and students, but widespread among the people. In addition to concerts and exhibits, Center-sponsored productions, such as the Balanchine ballets “Serenade” and “La Valse,” musicals, such as “Music Man” and “The Fantasticks,” and dramatic productions by the National Theatre of the Deaf, were seen by the Chinese public for the very first time.
In the United States, the effect on institutions and individuals who have participated in the Center's projects is equally fundamental, not infrequently leading to fresh inquiries and re-evaluation of convictions and theories.
The reaction on the part of the American public toward exchange projects is harder to gauge than that of the Chinese, whose response is usually immediate. “Distant Harmony: Pavarotti in China,” filmed with the assistance of the Center, documents the instantaneous impact on the Chinese made by the visit of a great Western artist… Similarly, nearly everyone in China has had the opportunity to see a televised version of… “Death of a Salesman” and the influence has been tremendous. However, the popularity of “Death of a Salesman” in China has been matched in the West by the film “From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China.” A film made possible by the Center, “From Mao to Mozart” won an Oscar award and is still shown all over the world.
The Center’s goal in China is to have a long-term impact on the arts.