On Mar. 29, 2012, H.E. Yang Youming, Chinese Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, and his wife Mme. Geng Hailing, met with Mme. Daryl Ries, a close friend of Mme. Dai Ailian, at their residence.

Ambassador Yang offered a warm welcome to Mme. Ries. He said that Mme. Dai Ailian, known as "Mother of Chinese Modern Dance", was born in Trinidad and Tobago. She was a great dancer with world fame and at the same time a pioneer for the friendship and cultural exchanges between the peoples of China and Trinidad and Tobago. As Chinese Ambassador, he was very proud of Mme. Dai. Ambassador Yang told Mme. Ries that the Dai Ailian Foundation was formally founded in August, 2011, with the join efforts of all people concerned. Beijing Dance Academy, which was founded by Mme. Dai Ailian,in collaboration with the Foundation, selected two young dancers from Trinidad and Tobago to study in the Academy and offered them full scholarships, That was a very good start for the Foundation. Ambassador Yang expressed his belief that the Foundation would develop and play a more and more important role for the cultural exchanges between China and Trinidad and Tobago.

Mme. Ries thanked Ambassador Yang and his wife for all their efforts in the establishment of the Dai Ailian Foundation. She told them that she formed a close personal attachment with Mme. Dai Ailian since their first interview in 1978. She was very excited to get to know about the establishment of the Foundation. She said that she had always worked hard to promote Mme. Dai Ailian and she would work with the Foundation to do more in the future.

Mme. Daryl Ries is a dancer, choreographer and writer. She wrote for Dance Monthly of the United States for more than 20 years. She was the first Westerner who interviewed Mme. Dai Ailian at the time China began the Opening-Up policy. She then wrote a series of reports on Mme. Dai and dance development in China for the Dance Monthly and other mainstream journals. Mme. Ries now lives in New York.

Mrs. Christine Cambridge, President of the Dai Ailian Foundation, Mr. Adrian Isaac, Director of the Foundation and nephew of Dai Ailian, and Mr. Li Xuda, Cultural Officer of the Chinese Embassy, were present at the meeting.