A Different Perspective

Last week I went to the V&A Museum to watch an evening of Rare Buddhist Dances. There were performances by nuns from India, a Nepalese traditional dancer, but the most striking performance was by a group showing Japanese Noh theatre. It was quite unlike anything I've seen before and I found it quite uncomfortable to begin with. There was a strange vocal quality and ghost-like movement - it would be called avant garde if it weren't hundreds of years old. It probably didn't help that I missed the introduction so didn't really know what was going on, but after a while, I began to sink into a meditative state and felt quite exhilarated afterwards. Apart from the performance itself, another interesting experience was observing the drop-in audience. Late-comers sneaked in excitedly as they passed people tip-toeing out unable to stay in an uncomfortable state. It made me realise how we often don't allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable or take risks to try something new. Putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation can sometimes lead to discoveries about yourself, your boundaries and your strengths.