Today Amadou & Mariam performed at Stern Grove. I tried to link the words "Amadou & Mariam" and "Stern Grove" so you could see what the heck I'm talking about, but to no avail. Alas, thwarted again by technology.*
There is something about African drumming that gets to people. All people. Standing on the side of the stage, I had the unique perspective of looking out at 12,000 people going completely crazy. There were the children who had stripped down to their underwear and were flailing around as though they were possessed. High school kids stood awkwardly in groups, bobbing their heads and trying too hard to look cool. Two old ladies in straw hats and cardigans swayed back and forth, waving their arms and clapping on the wrong beat. Staring out into that gyrating mass was incredibly powerful. Having spent two years in a West African dance company, I completely understand the call of the drums. It somehow gets inside you, replacing your heartbeat with this indeniable mass of sound. It is impossible to not get caught up in the pulse, impossible to prevent your body from responding.
As I watched, however, the thing that moved me most was the presence of Amadou and Mariam. Amadou and Mariam are a married couple from Mali. They were both born blind. They speak only French. They would shout out commands to an audience that couldn't understand them, and who they could not see, and yet it was as if everyone was linked somewhere in the deepest parts of their souls. It was the kind of feeling you have where there's a tightness from your heart to your stomach, a feeling that is as emotional as it is physical. Hearing my San Francisco peers screaming out these intensely primal French words is something I can never describe to you, no matter how many words I use. Instead, here are the pictures.
*Thanks to Malia, this is no longer an issue. Until next time. ;-)
2 comments:
Whoa. I have chills. That sounds amazing.
You were such a beautiful dancer! I remember how cool those shows were.
For linking, what you do is highlight the words you want to link, then click on the little chain-link icon, and paste in the URL you want to link to. If that button isn't in your toolbar and you have to hard-code it, I can show you how. It ain't hard. (But I had to be taught, too!) =)
So now that you have not only linking but also picture-posting figured out, does this mean I can link to you in my sidebar yet? (You didn't sound too sure about this whole deal previously.)
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