| Current mood: |  amused |
Dance like no one's watching (and sing along in Albanian!)
I had such fun last night with Josie of Please Come Flying. She's delightful--as nice and friendly in person as she is online. We went out to supper together, and then since Josie had once gone to school in Budapest, we went to a Balkan music concert. The group consisted of an amazing percussionist, a bass player, an accordion player who made incredible faces as he performed, a violinist, a singer, and a bellydancer!
The group, Which Way East?, has a MySpace page that includes three songs. The first one is a ballad, but the second one is faster and shows off the musicians more. In the middle of one of the Albanian songs, I realized I was hearing the song from behind me as well as in front of me. A woman sitting in the audience was happily singing along. She yelled out something at the end, which I assume was the Albanian equivalent of "Bravo!" or "You go, girl!"
The evening was a refreshing break from my revisions. At supper, Josie and I were talking about the creative process, and I told her that one reason I like to work in the old part of my local library is that fewer people use that area, and sometimes I hum when I'm revising. Sound is very important to me, and though I pay attention to words and meaning, I also revise based on rhythm. To do that, I hum the sentences. I even wear the characters' emotions on my face sometimes. . .and that's why I don't write in very public places. I'm afraid of becoming known as the weird lady who hums and makes faces over in the corner!
So to watch that accordion player last night scowling and oooing and waggling his eyebrows as he played and to hear the woman behind me singing along with joyful abandon . . . it reminded me that sometimes the arts aren't best served by us being closed-in, clever, cerebral, and careful.
Sometimes we honor art best by daring to let go--allowing ourselves to be quirky and emotional and even a bit goofy. Revealing our honest feelings and reactions on our faces.
Humming to hear the music in the words.
Or singing along in Albanian.
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cynthialord) wrote,
