Symphonic Dancing

Last Christmas my dad decided that he had too much stuff, so for his presents he asked for experiences rather than his usual request for socks and electronics. My mom was already getting him season tickets to a theatre and my brother was taking him out for lunch, so I had to come up with an original idea and decided to get him tickets to the symphony. There were four tickets, so I figured I would go with him once and the second time he could go with my mom.

Unfortunately for me, my mom said she had no interest in going to the symphony, so now I get to go to the symphony twice. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love classical music, but if I’m going to listen to any type of music I would much prefer dancing to it over just sitting. Luckily for me, my father decided to pick the “pop” series of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s performances. The first one, that we’ve already attended, was A Century of Broadway. This was fantastic because I could easily recognize various tunes and they had two amazing singers, so it was much more entertaining than if it had been just the music. Another really interesting aspect of the performance was that the singers gave us a mini history lesson of how each of the songs influences Broadway music and why they were chosen. It was really interesting to see how Broadway musicals and music styles had evolved over the last century and they did an amazing job of singing and playing in such a wide variety of styles.

One thing that really struck me as different from a concert setting was how everyone just sat quietly appreciating the music. Music is just such a wonderful way to express your passion and portray emotions, that I can’t understand why people just sit and listen to it. I suppose, not everyone feels music through dancing and movement. I could feel the people around me taking in the story the music was telling them. They just absorbed it and processed it in their mind, where I would have had to express it in some way. I think that’s a really neat skill to have. To be able to almost meditate on the emotions instead of having to express them through song or dance or art or tears. I think I would like to be able to be completely still and be one with the music. I think I may have to try it out at the next symphony. Although A Night At the Cotton Club might not be the best situation for serenity.