Dance as a Bridge-Builder

I'm here at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia taking courses towards an MA in Conflict Transformation. In my class this week is a young man from Chechnya. He's been struggling to communicate and connect because his English is quite limited. I've watched him drift away from class conversations and small group discussions, quite exhausted from trying to understand what's being said for hours on end every day. My heart goes out to him; it's a lonely feeling to be surrounded by conversation you can't understand.

Tonight there was a dance in a park in downtown Harrisonburg, and I watched his face light up as he danced his way across the lawn several times with several different people. At last, he could feel connected to everything going on around him. His smile was pure joy, and his exuberance was contagious. He danced enthusiastically for every dance.

What a great reminder of how music and dance can connect us beyond language. I now want a bumper sticker that says, "Hoedowns for Peace."

Engineers of the Imagination

A recent posting sent out by the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture by Arlene Goldbard really got my attention. Referring to artists as the "engineers of the imagination", this video interview advocates for a "new WPA for artist". In an article on the Community Arts Network site, Ms. Goldbard writes that a public works program that puts artists to work would be as important an element to economic stimulus as building roads and bridges to rebuild our country's financial stability.

Many countries around the world have cultural ministers and national departments dedicated to cultural issues. But here in the U.S. we treat the arts as "extracurricular", while economic realities force school districts to cut arts programs (while usually retaining sports programs), and thousands of arts non-profits must beg for money to continue work that sometimes offers the only ray of hope or expression to the lives of disadvantaged kids.

The fact that this discussion is going on gives me hope that perhaps we're moving towards a society that realizes that participation in the arts is what will allow us envision the future we desire, and then create it.

The Arts and Peacebuilding

I just returned from a fabulous 10-day trip to Virginia where I attended a class called The Moral Imagination, which was part of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at Eastern Mennonite University. Taught by John Paul Lederach, author of a book by the same name, the course was an exploration of the role creativity and imagination have in conflict transformation.

To try and summarize the book, or the course, is truly daunting. But I came away from the experience with a profound appreciation for those brave individuals who, when they have the most to risk or lose, manage to step outside the system and find a new way to tackle problems that have plagued humans throughout history. And hope for the future, that we can nurture our curiosity and imaginations to bring about a more just and peaceful world.

Below is a video two of my classmates and I created as our final project. Enjoy!

Art by the Majority for the Majority

What if everyone played a musical instrument? And danced? Is that so outrageous to think about? And if so, why?

El Sistema is a project in Venezuela that's bringing music to the masses. According to the website:

"250,000 children and young adults are currently playing a musical instrument, and by 2010 these numbers will have doubled. It’s an astonishing development brought about by one person, first and foremost: José Antonio Abreu."

Mr. Abreu is a composer, a conductor . . . and an economist. A seemingly odd collection of careers, but a combination that led him to combine social work with classical music to provide kids from the slums a chance at a life off the streets.

“Originally art was made by a minority for a minority. Then it became art by a minority for the majority, and now we are at the beginning of a new era, where art is intended by the majority for the majority.” José Antonio Abreu

Power to the people, and power to the magic of the arts.

Serious vs. Solemn

Now that I get the TED Talks downloaded straight into iTunes, I've been feasting on new ideas and topics. One of my recent favorites is Paula Sher's talk, "Great design is serious (not solemn)".

Well-known in the design world as someone who creates trends rather than follows them, Ms. Sher talks about the difference between serious play and solemn work. When we have the intention of truly being in the moment, of playing and exploring for no other reason than to play and explore, that's when real creativity comes forth. Once we put a high value on something, a style or an end product, then the work becomes solemn, and takes us out of the moment. We then lose any playfulness and sense of exploration.

So much of American life has become solemn, and look where that's gotten us. We're long overdue for some serious play.

Embracing Failure and Imagination

Like many people, I gobbled up each and every Harry Potter book as it was published. I marveled at J. K. Rowling's storytelling abilities, and how deep and complex the plotlines were. I mean, come on - the boy has to deal with terrorism and politcal corruption. And this is something many elementary school kids understand!

So I was eager to read Ms. Rowling's Harvard commencement address last June, titled The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination. The following passage sums up why I think everyone owes it to themselves to read this:

Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

It's when we engage our imagination that we're able to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and ask, "what would that really feel like?" There's certainly no lack of need for compassion and understanding in this world, and we need everyone's imaginations in full gear.

First Ever International Body Music Festival

About 13 years ago I went to my first Keith Terry workshop. Wow. I'd been studying Afro-Cuban drumming, and was amazed by what he taught: body percussion. And may I say that, after schlepping heavy congas drums around, it was a revelation to realize that my body was an amazing instrument! And required no additional heavy lifting.

Keith lives in the Bay Area will be hosting the 1st International Body Music Festival December 2nd through the 7th. The festival will feature performers from all over the world. Hambone, gumboot, palmas, beatboxing, stepping, kecak (monkey chant), snapping, clapping, you name it. Long before we humans developed instruments, we used our bodies to express our musical ideas. Almost every part of the world has some form of body percussion or mouth music.

If you can't make it to the festival, bring Keith to your town to teach a workshop. I guarantee it'll be great fun.