Beyond Language

It is both unsettling and magical to be in a place where I don't speak the primary language.  Communication is turned on its head and gestures, signs, intuition, tones, all become far more salient. We are in Quebec City for the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies, and although there is still a fair amount of English, French is by far the dominant language.  The welcoming ceremony had many wonderful performances and presentations, in both French and English, including a short film and a discussion from its the creators. 

At one point, a teacher from the hosting university was honored and invited to get up to speak.  Preceding him was a grateful former student who told us how he had championed Dalcroze and brought it to the school over 40 years ago.  She spoke very highly of how he had touch so many lives. He said in English that I would not speak in English because it would be better for everyone, and that he would address the audience in French, instead.  And then there was a beautiful silence before he began to speak.  I don't know what he said, and perhaps it would have been disappointing had I understood his words, because his silences were so meaningful to me.  Divorced from the details of the stories and feelings he was sharing, I could read another part of what he was offering and what he had offered to others for years.  In addition to the brilliant improvisation performances, the beautiful visual films and graphics that were a part of them, the interactive singing, and lovely speeches of the ceremony, this will be something I remember.  

We can gain when we let go or lose something that is close or a comfort to us, something that we depend upon.  Sometimes its covers other possibilities of experiencing the world and seeing the people around us clearly.  There are many people with whom I will likely never be able to hold a full conversation, but we can still meaningfully communicate with one another in many other ways.  Another 4 days of enjoying the magic.....