Thoughts on hosting a singing workshop
Dec. 6th, 2010 01:55 pmYesterday I hosted a Balkan singing workshop. My cat prowled around a lot (which I expected) and yowled a lot (which I did not). I felt like the embarrassed parent of a noisy toddler. Fortunately cats, unlike toddlers, can be put outside, even on a cold day. Also, I offered to take the teacher, Daniela Ivanova, out to dinner afterward, but her husband overrode my protests and paid the bill instead.
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jesse_the_k recently posted about the mantra she came away with after reading one of my articles. Her version is "I am doing the perfect thing!"
Lying in bed last night, trying to calm my intense embarrassment, I took her words and changed them to, "It went perfectly!" And it worked.
Yesterday I hosted a Balkan singing workshop. Everyone who said they'd come showed up. We had 11 people, which is a comfortable size for my living room. We worked on four beautiful, interesting songs. On my own behalf, I can't say "learned" yet, but I'll get there. It looked like everyone had a good time. I certainly did.
Thanks,jesse_the_k, for reflecting my words back to me in a new way!
I've been thinking about the workshop in relation to an articlejesse_the_k linked to, The Tyranny of Structurelessness. (What can I say, I'm her newest fan!) The workshop came about because Daniela and I have met and gotten along well at past events. I mentioned to her that I'd like to have a singing workshop sometime, then she emailed me with some dates, then I posted it to my singing group and another mailing list, and ta-da! it happened.
Yes, friendship creates power. Also, being willing to step into the unknown and take ownership of an event creates power. The article talks about the problems with structuring groups around friendship. What I'm seeing is that many events wouldn't happen at all without the combination of agency and support that friendship, or at least cordial respect, creates. Perhaps the difference is that the article talks about larger political groups, and I'm talking about smaller recreational ones.
Still, I didn't know, growing up, that I could create an event simply with imagination and the help of friends. That's worth knowing.
jesse_the_k recently posted about the mantra she came away with after reading one of my articles. Her version is "I am doing the perfect thing!"Lying in bed last night, trying to calm my intense embarrassment, I took her words and changed them to, "It went perfectly!" And it worked.
Yesterday I hosted a Balkan singing workshop. Everyone who said they'd come showed up. We had 11 people, which is a comfortable size for my living room. We worked on four beautiful, interesting songs. On my own behalf, I can't say "learned" yet, but I'll get there. It looked like everyone had a good time. I certainly did.
Thanks,
jesse_the_k, for reflecting my words back to me in a new way!I've been thinking about the workshop in relation to an article
jesse_the_k linked to, The Tyranny of Structurelessness. (What can I say, I'm her newest fan!) The workshop came about because Daniela and I have met and gotten along well at past events. I mentioned to her that I'd like to have a singing workshop sometime, then she emailed me with some dates, then I posted it to my singing group and another mailing list, and ta-da! it happened.Yes, friendship creates power. Also, being willing to step into the unknown and take ownership of an event creates power. The article talks about the problems with structuring groups around friendship. What I'm seeing is that many events wouldn't happen at all without the combination of agency and support that friendship, or at least cordial respect, creates. Perhaps the difference is that the article talks about larger political groups, and I'm talking about smaller recreational ones.
Still, I didn't know, growing up, that I could create an event simply with imagination and the help of friends. That's worth knowing.
