These past two weekends, Bal Malhada had the opportunity to perform together as an ensemble for the first time, participating in Belhaven University's Spring Dance Concert. We were in the studio almost every night rehearsing the show, and then we performed in three shows each weekend. While these past two weeks have been exhausting, they have also been good. There is something inexpressibly unique about dancing and performing together as an ensemble, and I would ask you to bear with me as I do my best to put this experience into words.
We performed two separate pieces in the Spring Concert, both of which are ones we will be performing in our upcoming fundraising concert, and then taking with us to present in various venues in South Korea. The first piece is entitled "Glorious Spirit" - a trio of shorter pieces that combine to create an atmosphere of worship, communion, and blessing. We've known and rehearsed these works since last fall, and to see them culminate in performance was an incredible experience. The energy and life that comes in a performance added an entirely new feeling of praise and worship to our movement, as the Spirit worked in and through us to proclaim the glory and blessing of the Lord.
Our second piece is one set by Sung Yong Kim this January, which he entitled "Help". In this piece, there are many moving parts, many sections, many interactions between and among us, the dancers. As a part of it, I have a very limited view of what is going on in the work as a whole, and it is only when I can watch a recording of it that I gain a better understanding of what is truly being communicated in our movement. In my own dancing, I find multiple moments of connection with one or two other dancers, and it often includes walking or moving alongside of them, standing with them, or seeing them. It is on stage that I feel we have begun to truly see each other, to truly know how to help each other, both on stage and in living alongside of each other.
Usually, at the end of a performance, I feel a finality, a sense of closure, of relief, of sadness: "We've done it. We'll never perform that piece again. It's over." But this time, I am left with a sense of expectant anticipation: "We've started. We are scratching the surface of what these pieces are, of what they mean, of what we have been given and can give to those in the audience. We've barely begun. There's so much more." As we rehearse and perform these pieces - for the next five weeks or so - we have the ability, the time to, dive deeper, to truly dig into our work, and to share that depth with those who bear witness. We have begun to be even more united just in the process of dancing on stage together for the past two weeks, and we get to continue in that unity, to build upon it.
What a gift we have been given, one that is not ours to keep, but one that we must share with others, an offering back to the Giver of all things. Join me in praying that as we continue in preparation and in going to South Korea, that God would continue to unite our hearts to dance, sing, and declare His praise.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but please know that we are incredibly thankful for you, dear readers of this blog!
Love,
Kelly
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| From the rehearsal process - photo by Seanne Rodgers |
We performed two separate pieces in the Spring Concert, both of which are ones we will be performing in our upcoming fundraising concert, and then taking with us to present in various venues in South Korea. The first piece is entitled "Glorious Spirit" - a trio of shorter pieces that combine to create an atmosphere of worship, communion, and blessing. We've known and rehearsed these works since last fall, and to see them culminate in performance was an incredible experience. The energy and life that comes in a performance added an entirely new feeling of praise and worship to our movement, as the Spirit worked in and through us to proclaim the glory and blessing of the Lord.
 |
| "Glorious Spirit" |
Our second piece is one set by Sung Yong Kim this January, which he entitled "Help". In this piece, there are many moving parts, many sections, many interactions between and among us, the dancers. As a part of it, I have a very limited view of what is going on in the work as a whole, and it is only when I can watch a recording of it that I gain a better understanding of what is truly being communicated in our movement. In my own dancing, I find multiple moments of connection with one or two other dancers, and it often includes walking or moving alongside of them, standing with them, or seeing them. It is on stage that I feel we have begun to truly see each other, to truly know how to help each other, both on stage and in living alongside of each other.
 |
| "Help" |
Usually, at the end of a performance, I feel a finality, a sense of closure, of relief, of sadness: "We've done it. We'll never perform that piece again. It's over." But this time, I am left with a sense of expectant anticipation: "We've started. We are scratching the surface of what these pieces are, of what they mean, of what we have been given and can give to those in the audience. We've barely begun. There's so much more." As we rehearse and perform these pieces - for the next five weeks or so - we have the ability, the time to, dive deeper, to truly dig into our work, and to share that depth with those who bear witness. We have begun to be even more united just in the process of dancing on stage together for the past two weeks, and we get to continue in that unity, to build upon it.
What a gift we have been given, one that is not ours to keep, but one that we must share with others, an offering back to the Giver of all things. Join me in praying that as we continue in preparation and in going to South Korea, that God would continue to unite our hearts to dance, sing, and declare His praise.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but please know that we are incredibly thankful for you, dear readers of this blog!
Love,
Kelly
