Making the soul dance: Betsy Lancaster takes part in a conference `for all who long to discover the creative sparkle within' - and finds manifestations in unexpected places

For A Change, Oct-Nov, 1997 by Betsy Lancaster

The hills were alive with the sound of music--and poetry and prayer; acting, dancing and painting; baking and puppet-making; and much more. For one warm week in August, people from all over the world gathered at Mountain House, Caux, MRA's Swiss conference centre, to explore in theory and practice the full meaning of creativity.

`Psssht', the conference's title, evoked the effervescence and energy released when opening a fizzy drink. A diverse group of 16 from five countries meeting in Britain, Sweden and the USA had conceived and created this extraordinary event on the triple themes of `creativity, freedom and service'. Their hope: to enable all who came to find new, honest and creative ways to look at themselves and their part in God's creation.

`It is not primarily a time for the "gifted" to develop their skill, but for anybody who wants to explore new sides of their human nature, their relationship with God and their role in society,' they said. Could the creative spark be ignited in everyone and in any aspect of life? British playwright Hugh Steadman Williams observed, `Love and creativity are two characteristics that we share with our Creator.'

An astonishing array of workshops--from puppet-making to `painting from within', from pastry baking to the Stanislavsky Acting Method--was offered. Workshop participants were grouped into four `communities', with neon pink, yellow, green and orange nametags making for easy group identification.

A time for reflection in these communities set the tone for the day. As the early sunlight reflected off the snow high on the Dents du Midi and then penetrated the Rhone Valley, thousands of feet below, a receptive place opened up in hearts where some new thought could occur, something new happen.

A good Swiss breakfast prepared us for a daily `open space' featuring a Swedish-Austrian mime/clown duo, Eva Lindroos and Charlotte Geissler. What better way than this non-verbal medium to speak to such a multilingual gathering? Drawing on their own life experiences, they amused and moved us, stimulated our minds and helped us laugh at our idiosyncrasies.

`Brief Encounters'--lively interviews conducted by Hugh Williams--introduced us to an American film-maker, an English violinist, a Swedish puppet-maker and an Indian writer, among others. Colourful, candid insights into what in their artistic lives had inspired them, given pain or taken them by surprise became part of the conference tapestry.

For instance, Ian Kiaer, an English painter, told of an injury which prevented him from pursuing his art, leaving much time for reflection. Having taken his ability to paint for granted, he now began to see it as a gift. `I had to choose priorities. There was ambition and vanity in my painting.' Creating art, he saw, was a choice between serving self or offering a gift to others. `If an artist is honest in his search for God, perhaps he can help someone else.'

In the 18 workshops, people were stepping across boundaries--often self-imposed--and trying things they had never dared to do: tentative novices side-by-side with the highly skilled. Imagine seven people of seven nationalities creating poetry from the abstract or the mundane to the profound. Or 11 people from eight countries starting with an empty vase, some flowers and pebbles and a twisted stem and creating a floral masterpiece. And what lessons were being learned in the `contemplative movement' workshop, I wondered, as I joined 12 people, aged from 19 to 70-something, sitting in peaceful silence?

For an only child like her, `puppets can be the people around you', said Marianne Lindroos, a Swedish puppeteer and educator. Her puppet-making skills seemed animated by a great sensitivity to people, which was reflected in the atmosphere in her workshop. The 14 who had signed up swelled to 21: black and white, young and old, Muslim and Christian working at one table in a room with spectacular views of the French Alps across Lake Geneva.

`There is a child within all of us,' she explained. `You can act out happiness and hope, but also painful experiences.' At home Marianne and her puppets are called upon by schools, nursing homes and hospitals. She told of one elderly man who commented after her portrayal of the Easter story, `It would be wonderful if I could believe in this. Perhaps I can.'

Lectures and seminars approached the subject of creativity from different perspectives and disciplines. The keynote address was a passionate and philosophical presentation on `Freedom and Creativity' by former Soviet dissident Ernst Neizvestny, considered to be Russia's greatest contemporary sculptor. (See Profile.)

The Czech Chief Director of the Baden-Baden Theatre in Germany, Frantisek Miska, addressed `Is Theatre Dead?'. He dealt with such pertinent issues as whether the depiction of excessive violence, so often excused as a mere reflection of society, encouraged immoral and inhuman behaviour. He spoke of a flood of film, music and television unworthy of the description `cultural achievement'. All too often, he said, contemporary culture glorified things which were harmful to society. Children, for whom TV was the main source of information, could start to believe that such behaviour was not only acceptable but desirable.