Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, we were on a bus to a local school to do some teaching. Armed with nothing more than the simplest phrase in the book (Hello/ “Néih hóu”), any surprise could be waiting. At home, we can rely on our language, our similarities, even our culture to overcome learning blocks. In this case we had only music and physical expression.
So with the microphones all tuned up, we hit the stage. As we went through our program, it felt as familiar as ever. The moments in the music are just as exciting or emotional or surprising or enjoyable regardless of whether or not you understand the lyrics. Come to think of it, there are a lot of times when I don’t know the ‘real’ lyrics.
We performed for a number of schools and were met with varying degrees of English proficiency. But most importantly, we seemed to be able to connect more and more with each program.
To learn more about our instructional music program, click here.