Those who watch also perform
Ovation is a time of coming together and seeing for ourselves our hidden talents appreciated and admired by so many of our fellow students and friends. It is also a time to see how our hard work of practicing for so many days and weeks finally sychronizes into a beautiful harmony of music and movement of dance. We realize that music is not mere compilation or combination of sound notes and musical notations but it is harmony, it is Gitanjali, to use the word of Rabindranath Tagore. And dance is not conglomeration of movements but symphony of moods and movements with meaning. Here, during Ovation, we see different aspects of ourselves. In the class, our academic performance is evaluated by the teacher but here we evaluate ourselves how well we do – We check whether our performance is satisfactory to ourselves and whether it is well appreciated by others. In anyway, the performance is a learning process.
Thousands of us are gathered here with much enthusiasm and infinite expectation; but perhaps a couple of hundred perform in the events. All the same, I believe that those who watch also perform. When we watch and when we appreciate and applaud, we too join the performance. And our appreciation brings in enthusiasm to those who perform. In a way, those who just watch become catalysts for the success of those who perform.
The Jesuits have the tradition of fostering music and dance. When the colonization began in South America in the 16th century and when slaves were transported to the colonies, the Jesuits objected to the slave trade. They, in contrast, freed all the slaves in their colonies, known as Jesuit Republics, and helped them master their own music and then taught them European music so that there could be hybrid integrated music.
The Jesuits promoted opera too. The first opera San Ignacio was in two acts with St Ignatius and St Francis Xavier as the main actors. And dance played an important role in Jesuit schools in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Dancing masters taught in Jesuit schools, and Jesuits themselves wrote treatises on dance. Now, you could see the origin of VisCom in Loyola! In dance, one could even recognize the power of religious experience. Dance, practically in all religions and cultures, has its origin in the sacred and it helps one explore the connection between oneself and to the universe in inner music expressed through outer body movements.
Music and dance play a major role in the holistic and integrated formation of oneself. Music develops imagination, self-confidence, logical discipline, communication etc. And dance makes one attain physical development, emotional maturity, social awareness, and develops one’s multiple perspectives.
And all these benefits you could get while you perform on the stage and while you appreciate the spirit-elevating music and dance. Enchant and Enjoy the performance and have a wonderful time celebrating our being together. All the best for Ovations2022.
Francis P Xavier SJ
29Apr2022