The Arts, Holistic Education, and Now
The Inner Landscape
Ballet Class, Theatre, and Music
As a director and teacher, I have often said you must become the dance, the music, the character. In truth, we already are. There is no separation between you and the movement, between you and the character or the story you are telling and finally, no separation between you and the audience you are performing for. The arts provide a skillful method for understanding the concept of oneness, of wholeness. And since creating art can only take place in the present moment, it is a pathway into spirit. It is about forgetting our small sense of self and becoming a part of something larger, because only then is one free to become the dance.
Dance is the language I know best, but what I say about it applies to all art forms. That said, please join me for a moment in a ballet class. Ready? Pull your stomach in, sit tall, and straighten your spine. Shoulders down, lengthen the neck, chest up and open to the sky. Feel that? That is engaging your center as we call it in dance. When this center is engaged the body can learn to do things unimaginable for most people. It can learn to fly. Engaging the center allows the body to move with freedom. Life begins within. When we really understand the meaning of the word freedom we realize it is not something someone can grant us or something we can find out in the world. True freedom is in our center. Dance is about learning to live from the inside out. When we don’t – when we live from the outside in - we have back problems among a plethora of other issues. We suffer because we don’t support our body, our lives, with our center. One can call the center our imagination, our creative impulse, our heart, our spirit.
Practice, persistence and technique are the foundation – after all one can’t play Chopin unless one has studied scales and knows the notes of a piano intimately. An artist is a highly skilled craftsman. Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the stone and I carved until I set him free.” There are so many doorways to wonder and freedom for the artist, the work, and the witness whether it is Kabuki, mosaics, a tribal drumming session, Bach or sculpture. Creative work is a process of revealment.
Discovery opens passages and beckons us into different worlds…
Cirque du Soleil is a stunning creator of unfamiliar worlds. They are an astonishing example of how the arts and creativity can thrive and inspire. It is a story of a company that was started from the dreams of 2 young street performers. Now a billion dollar a year enterprise, they engage an international array of artists to create the worlds most spectacular shows. Cirque du Soleil is a celebration of creativity, artistry, and the highest ideals of humanity.
Their commitment to economic, social, and environmental issues is outstanding. I offer them up as an example of the practical and powerful application of the arts and the enormous difference they can make in lives worldwide while also being an incredibly successful theater and business model. With the simple intention of building a better world, they provide a masterful example for industry worldwide.
Each and every artist of Cirque is a realization of years of training, passion, perseverance, and hard work. After many months of rehearsal, sometimes years, together with a large team of exceptionally gifted artisans all with a commitment to excellence, it all culminates in a performance. As the curtain goes up and the music begins, every heartbeat swells and we are swept into a realm never before experienced.
The theatre is always an invitation to step into the unknown. An opportunity to see the story of someone else, recognize commonalities and embrace universal truths. Any good live performance creates a remarkable bond between the artists and the audience. Whether it is a rock concert, a play, ballet or symphony, it provides us with the opportunity to recapture the magic and wonder of life in that moment.
Years ago I witnessed a jam session at 7th Avenue South, a famous jazz club in New York City run by the amazing Brecker brothers. While I know very little about the technical aspects of jazz, I understood as I listened and watched, that the musicians were having an intimate conversation, the likes of which would never happen again, and they were all exhilarated by what they were saying to each other. Eyes closed, bodies swaying inside the notes, heads bobbing, they spoke a wild language few could speak, and yet everyone could tap their foot to.
It is a beautiful experience to watch someone be swept away into ecstasy… I watched my best friend, D Gause, also a jazz musician, play a concert once in Las Vegas. She sat down at the piano, her hands started to dance, and suddenly she became this radiant energy. She turned into music as her hair flew around her like a fine whirlwind and she took everyone in the audience with her on this surreal journey. I already loved her, but that night I fell in love. She gave her whole heart away to every single person sitting in that concert hall. We become so much more when we give.
Whether it is in the grocery store or on stage, in essence, we are all dancing, every day, every moment. We stumble, we lurch, some gingerly tiptoe, sometimes we bust a move and fall down, we wallow, we trip the light fantastic and sometimes … sometimes we float.
Yet even when being still we are moving. At this very moment you are being whirled around the sun at a mean velocity of 66,600 mph while simultaneously spinning at a 1,000 mph. Meanwhile our whole solar system is twirling around the center of the galaxy at 560,000 mph.
Whoosh, that’s quite a ride we’re all on.
And so is this life thing.
When we have nothing to navigate it by, we get lost.
Hearts
I facilitated a class for young girls between the ages of 13-17 who were court ordered to attend this class as a last ditch effort to keep them out of juvenile jail. Needless to say they were not happy about being there and many had either dropped out of school entirely or skipped most of the time. As a white, middle-aged female, I didn't have much in common with them on the surface. Yet, I knew them well. I knew how they felt inside.
I remember one young girl asking me if I thought they were bad girls. This question stunned me and it still feels very poignant even as I write it. They were there for stabbings, police chases, gang activity - radical violence was simply a part of their lives. But when I walked in the door, I saw beautiful young women who were in excruciating pain and had no way to deal with it. I certainly knew what that felt like. I just adored them.
I always told them about the South African greeting of hello " Sawa bona " which literally translated means – “I see you.” I saw them. They instinctively knew I understood their suffering and somehow the need to posture was dropped. The details of the stories were very different, but it was always about trying to survive the world and themselves.
Class usually began by sounding like a tumultuous volcano in a boom box, but when I put out paper and loads of colored magic markers, the effect was profound and immediate. Anger dissipated into orange swirls and exotically shaped letters. Poetic words, polka dots and marvelous doodles filled the paper. Through the colors and shapes we were able to speak about things that were unspeakable and they were able to listen to each other, which was nothing short of astonishing.
Public school was for some of them a refuge from home if they had one, and for others it was some whacked out kind of punishment the world inflicted on them. I heard them very clearly when they asked me how the hell they were supposed to get food and clothes without stealing since there were no adults in their lives who were capable of providing much of anything.
They had dreams, lots of them, and basically no way to follow them. Just getting through a day was an immense challenge. Every single one of them was imbued with more courage than most people
experience in a lifetime. To hear a 14 year old from the ghetto describe what her future would likely be in explicit detail is a shattering experience. It was her world.
To provide space and invite young people to create and invent a different story for themselves is to give them a breath of hope and possibility. For these girls who had survived and lived in a world most of us cannot comprehend, the thing they drew the most was a
heart.
I have kept many of their drawings all these years. They are precious to me in a way I can't describe with words.
As with studies of the arts in education, art therapy has proven time and again to be of immeasurable value. The question I ask is why, with all this information and these studies and arts advocates, do we constantly dismiss them? I offer to you what happened with those girls and their crayons and the paper. I have seen in the studio, lives transformed through the dance. The arts transcend ethnicity, race, and religion. They embrace all equally.
Penguins and Acceptance
According to John P. Miller, author of the holistic curriculum, second edition "holistic education is founded on balance, inclusion, and connection. " Aha! This is the arts - all the arts! It is the pure embodiment of holistic education and all the principles that apply. Dance is based in balance, a stage is a canvas, which is balanced, music is mathematically and thematically balanced, and all great writing achieves a level of balance. Inclusion is alive and well in the arts perhaps more than any other endeavor. They embrace everyone and everything. Nothing is left out when it comes to creativity. It is expressed in a myriad of forms and indulges all manner of extremes no matter how taboo. And the arts provide the opportunity for connection in abundance.
In the context of a performance, a film, an art installation, a sound recording, there is the ever-present message of the whole. Many people must participate in order to make the magic happen, and of course, without the audience there would be no point for all that work. It is an embracing of all the individual parts - the technical end, the performance artists, and those who witness the work and actively participate in the journey simply by being present. Whether it is a grand opera, a poetry slam, an indie film, or some bizarre form of performance art, there is great power in people coming together to share and experience new worlds. Whether one likes the thing or not is for the car ride home, but it is always an experience in which an exchange of energy occurs at a high level.
Over the course of my performing career I have been - not in order of appearance - a tap dancing penguin, a ghostly jilted maiden, a nun, a witch, a biker chick, an angel, a dwarf, a muse, a sea urchin, a vamp, a shoeshine boy, a prostitute, a nurse, a cookie fairy, a very bad fairy, a dwarf, an Indian, a cowgirl twirling a pistol, a snow queen, a gospel singer and on. I’ve disappeared, re-appeared, flown about on wires, been tossed, thrown, and twirled, danced provocatively in front of a priest, ice skated on plastic and romanced more partners than I care to admit (all part of the job mind you).
In a world where we frequently learn that parts of ourselves are unacceptable or rejected entirely - the arts give us permission to explore aspects of ourselves we often hide in the shadows. The arts encourage us to bring the whole of who we are to each endeavor - leaving nothing out - it is permission to express the fullness of our being - with honesty and courage. It is the recognition of the sacred and the profane – both addressed with equal amounts of reverence and humor, leaving judgment on the side table. The arts provide the rare opportunity to express all of ourselves with unbridled passion. They are a gateway to freedom - the price being the courage and willingness to risk oneself, to let go of who we think we are to become whatever we might be.
Through this exploration to understand and embody every aspect of what it means to be a human, in full array, we learn to be in harmony with ourselves and others. Within each of us lies the essence of all characters and all personalities. The arts are ever striving to embrace the whole and speak the truth. They exist beyond time and social boundaries. Shakespeare is a perfect example of this as his work remains as relevant today in his observations of human truth as it was in his time. This is true of all great art. It provides a mirror in which we can see ourselves. The arts teach us about truth and provide a colorful, often whimsical, way in which to view that truth.
In any artistic process, there is an intimate connection to inspiration, a willingness to be open, allowing the heart to fly in unexpected directions, without a preconceived notion of what the outcome will be. While it is possible to have a general idea of what will happen, ultimately it is left to chance. Creating is always a risk. So the arts, rather than labeling a child “at risk”, show them how to take a risk.
The very act of starting a painting or waiting in the wings, is a willingness to step into the unknown. True art is a live and unpredictable event, just like life. Our compulsive need to know everything - right now - is alive and well. We spend great amounts of energy and time manipulating and organizing our lives, planning every detail out, chasing after the need to feel that everything is all right and under control. The artist prepares and then lets go. To create, one must fall into the unknown. It is the field of unbounded possibility. The mystery is always there waiting, inviting us to enter in. And if perhaps we happen to look up from our cell phones, our computers, if we pause long enough, we see a space in the twilight, a space resting between the deep green leaves of a tree branch, a hollow that beckons, promising secrets to be revealed if we will only risk walking in.
And so here is the painter standing before his canvas, the dancer ready to go onstage, the writer embarking on her story, the composer hearing his opera in the air, the musician cruising between the notes of the music, the actor losing herself to another self. It is the art of becoming utterly and wholly present to the moment and the infinite promise of being.
A young person who has participated in this process of discovery develops a sense of courage, a willingness to delve into the inscrutable paradox of what it means to be alive. It shows them ‘how’ to participate in their own renaissance of becoming in any stage of life. For a child, an artistic endeavor can be a place in which they are set free to experiment and explore. Children instinctively identify with make-believe, it simply doesn't occur to them that anything is impossible - they arrive here with completely open minds… yet as they grow the world very often closes around them.
As many people age, fear literally paralyzes their lives. They get stuck in a cobweb of their own creation. But for those who have had the grand opportunity to understand that taking a risk brings reward, the willingness to step into worlds unknown becomes a lifetime adventure rather than something to be feared. We are all on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s journey whether we know it or not. We must accept the adventure into the unknown to discover the riches in new worlds and within ourselves, while being strong enough to accept guidance along the way.
What do I Bring to the World?
There are so many studies that unequivocally determine how incredibly beneficial the arts are. I believe most of us can acknowledge that they play an important role in every life. My own life is an example and it has been proven time and again how powerful they are in the development of a young person. We need teachers who have lived their craft/subject and are deeply passionate about it. Creativity is our highest nature, our sacred fire. Great art begins with a calling from within to create something, to bring something forward and out into the light, a need to share that inner vision that has no choice but to be brought forth.
Over the years I have had the privilege to work with both professionals and students in theater and dance. I have received countless letters that expressed how the discipline and struggle in a ballet classroom or participating in a performance is transformative and life defining. Essentially each letter is a testimony to the power of the arts as a path of self-discovery, aliveness, joy and freedom.
I can't fathom trying to move through the terrain of growing up, no matter what age, without the presence of the arts to inform daily life. To each and every one of those delirious lives that have danced across my path I feel such a sense of gratitude and they invariably bring laughter to my heart. Through the very real difficulties and struggles ‘to become’ they have given me the space to share with them my passion and the life lessons I have learned through my own capricious dance.
Imagine the world without the arts. No music, no paintings, no theatre, no movies, no costumes, no singing…
What would we have to communicate? How could we learn to become the artists of our own lives and share the essence of who we are, in our uniqueness, in our shared humanity? We need, we must, have a method that enables us to offer up all that lies within our heart - like a prayer.
Lift your brushes, your wooden spoon, your guitars, pens, voices, your garden trowel, arms, sewing needle, violin bow, and celebrate the miracle that we have been given, the gift to create. Every single one of us is already a work of art. We, messy, ghastly, fantabulous jars of recycled stardust, are capable of such marvels. Composer Leonard Bernstein wrote, "It is the artists of the world, the feelers and the thinkers, who will ultimately save us; who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing and shout the big dreams."
A call to arts! A revolution of creativity. Your job? To march to the beat of your own drummer, to dance to the song of your siren, to listen deeply to your muse, to wield your instrument of choice with fearless bravura. Do what you love and do your work.
Freedom
As we sally forward in this tumultuous, intriguing time - there will be a greater need for creative solutions to issues that have never arisen before. Life is a creative endeavor by its very nature. Every moment is an opportunity to create when we see it clearly in the present. Each and every single choice we make informs the day, the week, the month, the years.
Life is a tremendous responsibility and a glorious opportunity. What would transpire if we all understood that we are handed a palate of colors, a canvas, a paintbrush? If we allowed our
imaginations to color our world and we walked in the ever-present
mystery with a sense of wonder, rather than fear? We have a responsibility to pass this opportunity on to children - to provide for them the paths to discover a life worth living, a life in harmony with nature and the creative source of the universe.
‘The job’ if you will - is to become the translator of this creative energy, the channel for the miracle of creation to express itself through whatever medium. The arts speak in many languages, all of them universal. When we are able to embrace the truth for ourselves, we are then able to teach this by example. Rabindranath Tagore expressed it completely, “Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.”
Merlin, a fine and accomplished painter, said that all fine works of art were self-portraits. They cannot be otherwise. He said the goal was to paint with the experience of a 72 year old while embracing the freedom of a 4 year old. At 4 we create nothing but masterpieces. It doesn't occur to a 4 yr. old to critique her work, to judge her work.
She is brilliant and her work is a masterpiece she generously wants
to share with the world. And that is that.
Providing children with the freedom to discover creativity and passion within themselves and to give them the tools and the space to explore this infinite field of possibility is essential to their being.
In return the gifts will be priceless and infinite.
A life well lived is a gift to all of us. It is something to be valued and celebrated. In this mysterious, extraordinary experience of becoming, the arts embrace the wonder of what it means to be alive and show us how to express that aliveness with passion. It is a path and a quest for excellence, not a magical happening, but a path that is available to all, whatever the pursuit may be.
We must each do the work of becoming, understanding every single one of us is a masterpiece in the making and then…. be open enough to share that greatest work with the world - ourselves.
We all need to re-imagine how the arts are conceived, sustained and shared in this swiftly evolving world. We must move beyond conversation and engage in the conscious act of creating. Then we can begin to appreciate the miracle of being here. Then we can hold in our hearts some sense of the mysterious grand design and live in a way that embraces the whole of our world.
Only then can we live in love.
In this wild and wooly time of human evolution we are all standing on the edge of a precipice:
Jump!
F
a
l
l
Fly……
© 2016 Nicole Romine
Quote References
Pg. 2
Albert Einstein said, “… imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
1929 October 26, The Saturday Evening Post, What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck, Start Page 17, Quote Page 117, Column 1, Saturday Evening Post Society, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Verified on microfilm)
pg. 6
Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the stone and I carved until I set him free.”
Lettera a messer Benedetto Varchi. (2011, novembre 25). Wikisource, La biblioteca libera. Retrieved 05:39, settembre 26, 2014 from it.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Lettera_a_messer_Benedetto_Varchi&oldid=1006138.
Pg. 10
John p. miller "holistic education is founded on balance, inclusion, and connection
The Holistic Curriculum John P. Miller
First published in 1988 by OISE Press Inc., Toronto Canada
Pg. 15
Leonard Bernstein wrote, "It is the artists of the world, the feelers and the thinkers, who will ultimately save us; who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing and shout the big dreams."
Thank you to Garson O’Toole the Quote Investigator for sourcing this.
1970 July 05, Boston Globe, Bernstein’s message: hope: Tanglewood address stresses artist’s role in chaotic world by Leonard Bernstein (Advisor to Tanglewood, Conductor Laureate, New York Philharmonic), (Extracts from an address given at the opening exercises at Tanglewood, June 28, 1970), Start Page A19, Quote Page A22, Column 8, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest) ↩
1975 March 2, Boston Globe, 400 students honored in Globe art contest, Quote Page 41, Column 1, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)
1982 November 21, Boston Globe Words and Music by Leonard Bernstein: Excerpts from Findings, Start Page SM9, Quote Page SM42, Column 4, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)
Pg 16
“Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.”
Sādhanā : The Realisation of Life (1916)
Rabindranath Tagore. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rabindrana388896.html