A few years ago, we went to visit friends in Brussels for a weekend. They had booked tickets for a dance performance, and I went to see the show without knowing anything about piece, the choreographer or the company. It was a beautiful, mesmerizing and wholly uplifting experience! I really felt I had witnessed something extraordinary!*
This made me think about what it feels like physically to encounter inspiring performances. It gives me this wonderfully warm and glowing feeling all over the body, coupled with a slight flutter in the stomach. The whole body is flooded with wonder and pleasure. There’s a sense of being completely enthralled, of falling in love, maybe even of some sort of erotic attraction! Sometimes I fall a bit in love with one of the performers/director/designer and seek out to be in their ‘presence’ by reading their words, watching them on video, etc. This fades away quite quickly, but what stays is a memory of a significant moment/experience, in which there was a sense of a profound encounter – or dare I say communion - with the performers, the production team and the audience. This memory becomes food for the soul, a moment of happiness, something uplifting that cannot be easily put into words.
Inspiring performance has this impact – something that can’t (yet) be measured and quantified, but creates a deep sense of wellbeing.
* The show I saw in Brussels was Co. Käfig’s Pixel. Enjoy the trailer!
This made me think about what it feels like physically to encounter inspiring performances. It gives me this wonderfully warm and glowing feeling all over the body, coupled with a slight flutter in the stomach. The whole body is flooded with wonder and pleasure. There’s a sense of being completely enthralled, of falling in love, maybe even of some sort of erotic attraction! Sometimes I fall a bit in love with one of the performers/director/designer and seek out to be in their ‘presence’ by reading their words, watching them on video, etc. This fades away quite quickly, but what stays is a memory of a significant moment/experience, in which there was a sense of a profound encounter – or dare I say communion - with the performers, the production team and the audience. This memory becomes food for the soul, a moment of happiness, something uplifting that cannot be easily put into words.
Inspiring performance has this impact – something that can’t (yet) be measured and quantified, but creates a deep sense of wellbeing.
* The show I saw in Brussels was Co. Käfig’s Pixel. Enjoy the trailer!