"I Heard There Was a Secret Chord..."

I attended and sang at a choir concert at my old high school tonight. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was! Even though it wasn't like watching a professional concert, or even a college-level concert, they were very good and entertaining for a high school. It was a whole night of show-tunes, and the new bell choir (one of the best parts of the concert) performed a medley from Beauty and the Beast as well as the Mario theme song (which was my personal favorite). The almost-finale song was a medley from Les Miserables. It moved me to tears. There was one line in particular that said "To love another person is to see the face of God" and it got me thinking. Even though the choir was good, it wasn't the best rendition of that song I've ever heard, but it still moved me. I think there are certain pieces of music that will have an emotional effect on a person, whether the performance is fantastic or not. I felt the same way listening to a recent performance of the song "Being Alive" from Company. That song makes me cry no matter who is performing it, merely because of the music and the words. Perhaps it is just as the song "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright says, "I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord." Perhaps there are certain chords that just strike a harmony within our souls. I don't know. Just something to think about.

Inspiring Dancers

Dancers are incredible. The ways they can manipulate their bodies to create beautiful images is inspiring. I just saw a night of new, original works presented by Ballet West tonight. I personally am not a dancer, I don't really know ballet terms, and I often have a hard time following the meaning of most dance pieces; however, none of this matters. When watching a dance piece, it doesn't matter if there is a plot that you are able to follow, or a specific meaning you can gain from it. All that matters is the beauty and the emotion that is expressed through the movement. Dance, to me, is one of the most beautiful and expressive art forms out there. There are emotions that can be expressed so much better through raw movement than could ever be expressed through words.