Improvisational song and dance? Oh, my!

I am surrounded by a dome of sound; eleven voices bounce off of each other, some matching, some blending, some wildly dissonant, and yet, breathtakingly awesome.  My voice moves off the basic pitch up a third, still feeling a rumbling attachment to the center, and rests there.  Suddenly it moves upward in melodic minors soaring over the top and then tumbling back down into the center.   Resting, soaring, resting, it hears another voice and follows, moves a third and imitates, moving here and there within that dome of sound.  The world is gone, fears, distresses, plans for the day, are gone.  And yet, the world is imminently there, I am fully connected, I feel the pain, I feel the joy.  I am.

More – we are.

But this soaring voice, is it me?

Yes, but somehow I have released it and it is free to go where it will without conscious thought directing it.  It is more than me.

This is improvisational “toning”.

The same thing happens with improvisational movement.  Thought disappears.  My body flows where it will, stretches, contracts, balances, and whirls and whirls.  Sometimes I find contact with the dancing bodies around me, and together we are one body, or together we are two bodies striving against each other as we pull and push – and yet still one body.

Improvisational dancers and singers are not the only ones seeking this state where we are free of conscious thought.  People doing sitting meditation strive to “empty” their minds.  Religious traditions ask us to clear our minds and “listen”.

Why do we want to achieve this state?

Because into the emptiness, into the silence, come new ideas, new solutions, new ways to approach the world.  It is from silence that we get our “Ah ha!” moments.

When I sing and dance I feel like I’m emptying myself of all the distress, the confusion, the hurt and pain, of the world I live in, freeing myself for clarity, for action, for the ability to do what I can to make the world a better place to live in.  (InterPlayers would call this “exformation”.)  I have allowed the joy, strength, and wisdom of the universe to enter me.  I leave empowered.

Wouldn’t it be great if this kind of improvisational singing and dancing could just happen spontaneously wherever and whenever we needed it?  On the street, in the coffee shop, at work, in church, wherever we are, alone or with others, when we need clarity and connection?

Next week, the 3rd principle of the Deep Hum Dancers: To understand that life is constant change, both externally and internally, that bits and pieces of the rest of the universe are constantly moving in and out of our “selves” bringing new information and insight and helping us grow into more connected beings.”

My book, Dancing the Deep Hum, is both the story of how I came to my present understanding of the world and ideas on how to implement this understanding.  You can learn more about the book and my other writings at www.deephum.com.  You can purchase Dancing the Deep Hum online at Lulu.com, Amazon, or Powells, or order it from your local bookstore.