I had an amazing time sharing knowledge and engaging 47 adults and youth on the Gershwin opera Porgy & Bess. It is moments like these where one of my artistic expressions (vocalist) intersects with my development and facilitation expertise to create active learning experiences that are so rewarding.
I had the opportunity to facilitate another workshop for Lincoln Center Education as a way to engage new audiences and provide them with fun facts as a pre performance event. In sharing with the participants part of the process of creating an opera I had them take the role of a librettist by coming up with a few lyrics of their own. In the end what they all came up with was so beautiful that I not only lead them in singing the lines, but recited the lines to them so they could experience how their words has the power to touch hearts.
Looking past the applause after I sang part of an aria or the thank you's and excitement over the pre performance experience I left knowing that every person learned some new things. They learned what it means to write lyrics. They learned how important it is to do research of a culture before you develop any art pertaining to that culture. They learned they have a voice that is musical and can fit into a community of voices. They also learned that embodying art can be a tool for learning art making and culture.