CultuRama, the gong show (but not really)

This years CultuRama was a mess. It was the first ever CultuRama with live music, and from a musician’s point of view, it was as hectic as it was challenging. Trying to coordinate the live music with the dancers and figuring out the best tempo for each dance was difficult, especially for the finale with such a large number of dancers (over 100!) dancing to it, and only a handful of musicians to bring it to life.

We all knew the challenges we were facing. We knew of the running order and the challenges of playing in the dark and working past mistakes and missing notes and errors with the tech of our speakers, backlash from dancers and dance leaders, but we took it all in stride. For me, CultuRama was the first time I had played my instrument, the piano, in a band. I always saw the piano as more of a solo instrument, and taking step out of my comfort zone to play with the rest of my classmates was new but exciting. Another step out of my comfort zone was the fact that I had to play in front of an audience of about 400. 400! The most I played in front of was my extended family, which was about 15 at most. I was scared, but I knew that despite my inexperience in this situation my role was still important. I knew the pieces that I had to play, keep the tempo going, push my fellow musicians forward. I think that that exposure of such a huge event given to me in such a short period of time has made me grow immensely. I remember that at the beginning of CultuRama, I was scared and confused by the sheer volume and complexity of it all, but by then end I was taking on any challenge that came on to me. Needed me to push the tempo for the Greek Dance? Sure. Needed me to improvise for the finale? I got it. I would never  have had the courage to do that before, but I think that this (and of course, the encouragement from my classmates and family) was the step that finally pushed me out of my comfort zone.

In all, I think CultuRama was an absolutely crazy yet enlightening experience into the world of the arts, of dance and music and teamwork. I know it sounds cliche, but I couldn’t have done it without all of my friends and classmates. We worked through all of the stress and complaints and took it all into stride and pushed through it to make CultuRama a huge success (in the music department anyway!). I would not have done it with anyone else.