Dalcroze this way, Dalcroze that way

This is an unusual Daclroze conference in that it is one with a more academic focus.  One of the pillars of Dalcroze is to experience first and then explain afterwards, and the balance of words about music and the classroom experience of it is sometimes limping, sometimes in one direction, sometimes in another.  But at this gathering there are engaging explorations from both perspectives.  Thinking about it and feeling it.  It can be hard for one to speak to another, and difficult for those well-practiced in one to feel comfortable and valued when put in the light of the other.   As much as it would be nice to believe that it is possible to examine a topic objectively, people are people, egos are egos, loyalties, hierarchies, boxes and categories and judgments..they all still exist.  But sometimes we can be more pure about the goal and put it above us as people.  Dalcroze in this context seems tricky because it is so many things and has so many purposes that it can be hard to know what is higher and more important to serve than oneself and one's subjective perspective.  

Dalcroze can be educational, or therapeutic, or help performers, or offer something to music theory.  It can offer something to music researchers as well.  And they can also give something to those that practice it, to understanding the theory behind their practice.  There are so many things happening in one place, and tensions and confusions can arise, but in the end, the goal is growth, of oneself and of all the people with which we connect.