Listening to the Lord of the Dance

Friday evening was the windup concert for the Sun shine Coast School of Celtic Music. It was toe tapping, body swaying kind of music, and the cool evening breeze must have carried the songs out into the trees. We wrapped blankets round our knees and sat back to enjoy.

Celtic music tells a story with every note - it is what traditional music is all about. Every culture has stories passed down through the unwritten music that is taught to each generation.

The movie Songcatchers tells about a musicologist who heads up into the Appalachians to record the "stories" that have never been heard down in the valley.

At the concert I was carried away when one artist played his composition "The Flight of the Stars" which came into being during his pilgrimage on the 1100 year old El Camino de Santiago. Watching cellist Christine Hanson play this sensuous instrument, her body and bare feet moving expressively with the story was exquisite. Young people held their violins tucked under their chin, bow held slightly higher up than is normal for classical violin, fabulous guitar playing along with flautist Chris Norman, added to the beauty of the stories given in the notes. Stories that breathed life and energy into the evening air, drawing you mind, body and heart into the story these ancient, and new, melodies tell.

One evening this past week my friends and I attended a Ceilidh where the lively tunes and Celtic dancing had men, women and children of all ages dancing together. None of us had the steps perfect, and we all laughed our way through each set. As with the stories told in traditional music, Celtic included, the dance is not perfectly choreographed. We danced with energy and unabashed freedom, learning the steps as we went. This dance floor equalized the abilities of the young and the old, drawing us all to participate in the moment, mind, body and heart! It was a moment to authentically celebrate life while the story continues to be written.

Sydney Carter wrote Lord of the Dance. As I reflects on the Appalachian stories of the movies Songcatchers, of the Celtic musicians, of various traditional music, it really does remind me that the Maestro of Life, the Lord of the Dance has set my feet tapping this week! And thank you Angela and Candice for a wonderful week of music that came as we told our own stories. The dance sort of just happens in the midst of living through the ordinary.