A Fantastic Lyrical Chaos

LUCIE NEROT - 5Rhythms Teacher, Thailand - Feb 22nd 2009

 

Friday :  My plan is to teach them lyrical today, to have them dance their strengths and their dreams and then draw, but I should know by now: I don’t teach this group, they teach me. And today we have a wild wind blowing and a storm building. I give up on my second hour of teaching and bring out the soft pastel art supplies. I show them how to use them and try to convey the idea of abstract drawing. It baffles them.  Lek says : “Well, if I'm not drawing a tree or a river or something, then what am I doing with these?” Suddenly, Lek discovers the versatility of black pastel powder and turns it into face paint. I consider trying to control him but I know it will probably take all of my energy and end up nowhere, so I sit back and watch as he paints his face as black as possible, making his group and then the whole group explode with laughter. The new fashion spreads quickly and pretty soon most of the guys and some of the girls have black or red faces. The energy is high. It is totally lyrical, with a good touch of chaos. I then give them their favorite track (Hands up /Black Eyed Peas) and watch them fall into a fantastic, lyrical chaos. Five minutes later,  it’s all over. We sit in a circle again and I ask Lek what prompted him to turn the drawing session he was so eager for into a face paint session. “I thought it would be fun and would make my friends laugh” he says, and then adds, “There’s a lot of suffering in life, but there’s also joy, so let’s make the most of it. Yesterday we all cried; today let’s all laugh.” And so we end with a laughing circle. It is a ride to dance with this group, but this was an exhilarating one!