Greetings from the Heron House in Morningside--and I’m not talking about the Heights! We're safely in Durban now and already doing some pretty incredible work.  We've been teaching 5 hours for the past two days at a local community center called the Blue Roof Clinic.  The facility is an amazing complex in Wentworth sponsored by Alicia Keys and continues our partnership with Keep A Child Alive. We had about 70 kids both days--around 15 in each class and we rotated class 4 times throughout the afternoon providing lunch for the kids as well.  The food is generously donated by an African fast food chain called Nando’s--the chicken is messy as hell but worth every bite!  (especially topped with their famous, all-purpose Peri-Peri hot sauce).  The kids all love us; though it's been tough focusing and controlling them at times, you can see in their eyes and feel in their hugs how much they are profoundly appreciative of our presence here.  

It's a bit hard at times--one kid pooped his pants in class, another had a bloody tooth fall out, and the bruises and scars on their bodies and faces all serve as physical reminders of the hardships they encounter on a daily basis.  A large percentage of them are HIV positive and another fraction from broken homes or have no living parents.  Childhood head-of-household is so prominent here that it has been included as a question on the country’s census.  There are also, of course, a few very privileged kids that have computers and play stations in their homes but the general quality of life for these children is extremely poor compared to our standards of living in America.  And the measure of their quality of life is surprisingly not primarily dependent on their physical and environmental disadvantages. Though they live in extreme poverty- it seems to me that their mental and emotional burdens are the thieves that weigh them down and rob them of their childhood.  In the classrooms we are teaching in there are no posters of the ABC’s, months of the year, or the colors of the rainbow--instead the walls are filled with posters graphically explaining domestic abuse and HIV prevention and awareness. And these kids are 7, 8, 9, and 10 years old.  

When we improv games in class to explore different characters, the scenes and images they are most familiar with are extremely violent and of very mature content.  They know more about killing and police corruption and crime and child care than they do about dragons and super-heros and things of the imaginary world.  It's very hard to get them to step outside of their harsh reality and connect to a personal world of fantasy and creative imagination.  They are extremely bright however, very versed in American popular culture and have a surprising command of the English language. They love to dance and sing and to see the light in their eyes that shines brighter than the world surrounding them is a beautifully refreshing and intensely inspiring experience.  

Thursday morning we visited the BAT, another incredible community center here in Durban.  We didn't quite know what to expect upon arrival- we were only told we would be working with 25 kids that specialize in Dance.  As it turned out, the participants of the workshop were local South African professionals, all our age or older.  Our introductions were a bit hesitant in the beginning because we've never taught people our own age, much less other professional artists, but as class transpired we explained a few theater games that broke the ice and within only a few short minutes we were all suddenly on the exact same page.  Where once we were almost unapproachable strangers, all different people from different walks of life, around the Zip, Zap, Zop circle we became more simply a group of artists collaborating, playing, exploring, and laughing together.  We continued with acting games and shortly got so comfortable with each other that by the time we moved into a larger theater space within the complex we were totally integrated and exchanging favorite musical artists, tips on how to double lace high-tops, and our personal contact information for Facebook. 

After teaching a hip-hop style dance combination that everyone enjoyed we performed a short set of songs--closing with Seasons of Love--to share a bit more of ourselves with our new contemporaries.  It was not a performance, however.  Singing for them actually became the most honest way to express to our new friends how much we appreciate their talents, how much we enjoy spending time with them, and how grateful we are to have the opportunity to all learn from each other regardless of our differences. 

There was an impromptu question and answer session following the workshop where we all sat on the floor and discussed our individual career paths, our training backgrounds, and the mission statement of BSA.  It became an extremely moving moment and evolved into one of the truest cross-cultural exchanges of artistic dialogue I've ever engaged in.  They asked us about our expectations of the people we work with here, we discussed potential possibilities for collaborative teaching efforts in their community since many of them are teachers themselves, and very hospitably insisted they would love to personally show us around their townships so that we can experience their way of life in a much deeper and local context. 

As we wrapped things up we blasted Afro-Fusion music from one of their ipods and cheered along as few of them danced for us, individually showing off their own special skills, tricks, and styles of movement.  It was truly an amazing moment in time and space. Dance and Music became the common denominator everyone in the room could share; the point of reference connecting all of us through our talents and passions and hope for Art’s ability to change the world.

Happily Exhausted, Christopher