Skandama..............?

We still have no real idea what this means.........but we love the dance routine. As soon as the choir sang this we had it swimming in our heads for the whole time we were there. We even tried the dance but......well.......we were rubbish.

The choir were entering a competition the day after we left the school and they were working so hard to get everything just right. The choir leader was an intense man - he rehearsed them all day int he boiling heat and issues a swift slap on the hand if you got the notes wrong or stepped out of line.

It was fascinating to hear the choir singing the same songs over and over. In all the choir leading I've done you're workign towards consistency, making something sound the same every time. Here that was very different. Every rendition was different - sometimes a different form or harmony. Because none of the music is written down they're creating some of the parts purely by listening to melodies and playing with chords.

What was also fascinating was how informal their performances were. Yes they had dance routines, and yes they had costumes - but they were laughing and chatting in the routines and really enjoying the act of singing. I wish I could have bottled up just a little of that enthusiasm, excitement, sponteneity and openness and brought it back with me. I think we could all do with a little of the freedom and confidence they have.

Fascinating to watch and listen too! I hope they won the competition!