Comment: SpiritLinks
Integrating classical, hip-hop and Gospel in music and dance, John Tesh leads kids in a life-affirming renaissance.
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With John Tesh at
the helm, "Alive music and dance" is a multi-media program on DVD,
CD, PBS and afternoon television. "Alive" employs creative lighting,
staging and camera shoots to feature kids and young adults performing music and
dance in a feast for the eyes, ears, heart and soul. The music and dance blends
classical, hip-hop, Gospel, Latin and jazz into one culture for all ages. An
orchestra, a choir and a band carry us across each genre effortlessly with
their exquisite sounds.
John Tesh called me
this week to discuss the creation of and intent behind "Alive." After
thanking John for speaking with me I told him I'd learned from the PR materials
and the expansive website JohnTesh.com http://teshmedia.com/artist/artistIndex.html
that inspiration for Alive came from a visit
to his 12 year old daughter's ballet class.
John: Yeah,
and as a dad, and now she's a teenager, your job is to drop them off and run.
And, a couple of days I would hang out in the back and watch. It wasn't that I
was watching my daughter really. It was more like just seeing something
completely different than what a lot of kids are doing and watching these
teachers who teach a couple hundred kids a day. The teachers give their lives
to this thing where they're not making a fortune but they realize that these
kids really don't have PE in the school. A lot of the kids' friends hang out in
the mall or are wrapped around a my space account gossiping all day. And the
teachers' job is to encourage these kids to find that passion in their lives.
So just watching that and realizing that they're probably saving my kids life
and the lives of a bunch of other kids, I thought, I'd love to write music for
that and that would be a great encouraging program.
And, looking for the
name, it came from centuries ago from St.Iraneus, who once said, 'The joy of
God is man (and, of course, man and woman) is man fully alive.'
Diana: Is this when you met Breeze?
John: Yeah.
Breeze's mom is Jonette Sweiger, who's the ballet teacher. The studio is where
Breeze teaches hip-hop. I love finding talent that no one else might find, and
so just watching him and saying why don't you come and dance with our band.
That's really how he ended up joining the band. Often you'll get someone up on
the stage and they get stage fright and can't handle it, but this guy just
unloaded and has become a huge force in our band.
Our audiences are
very diverse. We have 15 year olds and we have 90 year olds. You know 90 year
olds up on their feet applauding a hip hop dance is pretty cool.
Diana: I have to say that I find the program made me feel
ageless. I forgot about what decade I'm physically in.
John: If you
were to go and Google right now and just search dance quotes, there's so many.
Albert Einstein has a quote about dance. Everybody does. Its all connected to
coming alive, being alive and being passionate about life. There's all the
metaphors connected to dance. Like [Lee Ann] Womack's song, {url http://www.videocodezone.com/videos/l/lee_ann_womack/i_hope_you_dance.html}'I
hope you dance,'{/url} which is really
about I hope you live your life to the fullest.
Diana: As a former amateur jazz dancer, I noticed the hip-hop
and even some break dancing, as well as ballet were done with proper posture,
form and movement so that it was safe. [I worry about the large number of injuries
to those who don't know the foundations of movement.]
John: Also
understand that those girls that you're watching are 13, 14 and 15. And I'm not
sure how far you got into the DVD but there's a girl named Julia who does
probably more of what you're used to in a jazz style [mixing ballet, jazz,
hip-hop and modern dance]. We auditioned about 1500 girls out in Las Vegas.
There was a big event there and Julia popped out of that crowd because she
could adlib. She didn't need choreography. Every time we did that dance called 'Freedom'
it was different.
Diana: Also in the DVD extras, Stan Sinclair says he sees
Alive as a culmination of your passion. Have you worked with Stan for a long
time?
John: You
know I haven't, but Stan knows sort of the passionate me. When I met him he was
a worship leader in a church, actually in the church where we shot the special.
He'd helped me with the Red Rocks project 6 years ago, and he's a guy who, as
an accountability partner, he knows me very well and knows my work. He's also
seen me from afar, so he knows that in the early years I was writing music for
bike races, and as a little kid I was making movies from 8 millimeter films of
my family and friends on Long Island.
I've always been
fascinated by the media. And it's interesting how that's come full circle now
for the 25 year old who works here. We hire kids who can edit a final cut. They
can write a song. They can mix a song. They can shoot a camera. They can write copy.
They can be on the radio. That's really what kids are like today. They have so
much in technology available to them to express themselves. It's almost like a
Renaissance movement, if you know what I mean.
Diana: There are some comments I want to make and have
you respond to them.
John: Sure.
Diana: One of the elements of the show that struck me was
that it was rousing without vulgarity in clothing or in dance and movement.
John: First
of all, it's a great complement; and secondly, when you have a 13 year old in
your house, you're hypersensitive to what goes into their eyes and ears.
There's a great proverb, Proverbs [4:23 New International Version], which
says, 'Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.' You
can let that roll off your tongue, or you can think about that. What does it
mean? That means there's a lot of stuff out there that if you just get lazy and
you let your kid wear a bare midriff or hotpants, or you let them watch Access
Hollywood or Extra or Entertainment Tonight every single night, or read People
Magazine or any of the teen magazines, they will eventually become what they
behold. And, so, we're not prudes but we just don't think it's appropriate, it
doesn't serve any purpose to be titillating in anything we do.
Diana: The only explosions I witnessed were of energy and
our senses. Nothing is blown up, nothing is broken. No one is being mutilated
or dismembered.
John: Yeah. I
like action films but they do wear you out a little bit. I think if you saw
some of my early work on the Tour de France you'd watch that and nod. The
explosions are orchestral explosions. Like the very beginning of the show where
it goes baroom, and then in slow
motion and the dancers pretend to be in slow motion. And there's another big baroom and they do that thing again.
I'm a bombastic
person. There are people who say, 'Oh my gosh, listen to his music. It's so
bombastic.' And other people will say, 'It's so bombastic; I love it.'
I love putting
together dramatic pieces, and you can do that with orchestra and with choir.
You can move people to tears with these sounds and you don't need a car chase.
You don't need sexual innuendo on stage, and we were really out to prove that
can be done.
Also, it's about the
look on a kid's face who is dancing to music that was written for them, and
these are kids who are not professional, they've never danced on stage like
this before. It is that innocence that I saw the first time I saw my daughter
in a dance recital. It's what I felt the first time I played a piano recital at
7 years old. That's what we wanted to put on the screen. And from the comments
you've made it looks like it connected with you.
Diana: The only war I saw was between two dancers, and no
one was hurt or killed. Were you making a comment with that?
John: Oh
yeah! That song was originally called 'Dance War' and we thought that might be
a little heavy-handed so we called it 'Two Worlds.'
The idea behind
having a ballet dancer and a hip-hop dancer was to show the mutual respect that
these kids from completely different worlds have for each other. And to show
that you don't have to use knives and you don't have to use curse words. You
can use your talent to settle a disagreement. The debate in this case was who's
going to own the dance floor in the metaphorical dance studio. So that
particular piece was so much fun to write music for because I'm pop-quoting old
classical pieces I used to play, and then sort of doing my particular take on
what hip-hop would sound like. Then, in the end we throw in a little humor
where they reverse roles and she dances hip-hop and he dances ballet.
There's another song
in there called 'Show Down' which is when two ostensibly rival dance gangs get
on stage and try to decide who's best. That actually happens in the real world.
[It's] called 'battling' where kids go to clubs and instead of screaming,
yelling and fighting, they settle which crew is the best by doing a dance-off.
Diana: I noticed that there are featured musicians and
dancers, and yet, clearly, this is an ensemble of cast, musicians, stage, and
lighting crew even Connie Selleca [John's wife] is listed in the credits as co-producer
and lighting consultant. The feeling I get is of a large community. It seems
like the whole experience is very tight in some ways in the joining, camaraderie
and shared respect.
John: For
sure. It started in a little dance studio. My daughter's dance teachers are
choreographing and dancing in it. My wife is always my wingman. She's always on
my shoulder looking at how this thing looks. Musicians I've worked with for 20
years are a part of it. Basically, I said 'Listen, I have this crazy idea and
come along with me and help me make this thing happen.'
And the hardest
thing about this, especially for the kids, was after rehearsing for months, we
played for 2 nights. You know, these kids gotta go back to school and people
some dancers and choir members came from all over the country to be a part of
this. All they wanted to do was to have a tour bus pull up in the back of the
venue and just jump in there and stay on tour for the rest of their lives. I
mean, I probably ruined these kids forever, because all they can think about is
going out on tour, and we'll do some of that with them.
I think you saw that
on stage. There'll be a 9 year old who will watch the special and who will say,
"Oh, my gosh, I wanna do that!"
Diana thinking, "How about a 60 year old who wants
to do that?"
John: I will
let you in on a secret. This show is doing very well, like on Christian outlets
and some other afternoon shows. It did not do work on PBS. They did not embrace
the show. I've been with PBS for 6 specials, but it is too young for them. They
want Celtic Woman, which is a great show. They want, really, sort of safe,
pretty, peaceful, and tranquil stuff. This was way out of their wheelhouse.
There were certain
markets where it worked, but in most markets it did not work like my first Red
Rocks [the PBS show from the same venue 6 years ago]. However, on the Christian
affiliates it's like their number one program. I think the reason is there's
Gospel music in there. I think, too, that when we air in the afternoon on some
of these affiliates there are more kids watching.
Diana: That's really stunning. Thank you for sharing that
with me.
John: It's
basically a failure [John laughs], but the good news is that it's working
elsewhere. And, the other thing that PBS wanted me to do was make it a piano
piece. They wanted me to put the piano out in the middle of the stage and it's
a John Tesh show.
If you notice, I'm
over on the side. The idea is
You know what, it's so easy for me to go and
stand and sing, and get an orchestra together and a choir or whatever and be in
the middle of the stage and do the John Tesh live thing. And we could sell a
zillion records like we usually do with these specials. How
why am I getting
in the way? I wrote all the music, produced the thing, let's put the piano over
on the side and feature the kids.
So, whatever you can
do personally to encourage people to watch this thing would be great because it
has been a bit of a struggle in certain areas.
Diana: Ahh, I'm sorry to hear that and I share the
enthusiasm and what I consider a great message of inspiration and hope.
John: Well, that's
what happens, too, especially in my life, whenever you step out of other
people's comfort zone for you. They go, 'Well, wait a second, we don't want you
to do that.'
You know what I
mean? Like when I was on Entertainment Tonight and I left there to do full-time
music. 'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get back over there and read the celebrity
birthdays.' So I like the challenge and this has definitely been that.
Diana: You made reference earlier and on the DVD extras
to this representing a movement. I think you said, 'Can you see it? Can you
feel it?'
John: Right.
I think kids today, there's a group of kids that are left alone by their
parents and end up in a mall or being wrapped around a play station or being
other places where they shouldn't be. And then there are other kids who are
saying, 'You know what, I am passionate about my life. I don't want what my
parents are telling me to do. I wanta go where my heart is.'
I wanted my daughter
to be a piano player, of course, because I'm a piano player. Fortunately, she
has parents who had parents who tried to do that to them. My wife said, 'No you need to go study in college.' My
daughter, next fall, enters the performing arts school here in LA because she
wants to dance.
It's a new breed of
kid who is saying, 'I'm passionate about something. Help me with that.' And
they're saying, 'I don't wanta be online all the time. I don't wanna be text
messaging 24/7. I don't wanna date when I'm 13 years old. I really want to do
something with my life.'
I think that's what
the movement is. And, I think that if you get the kids, you get the parents
inspired, maybe, to do that in their life.
You know, maybe a 55
year old guy like me says, 'Wait a second. I've got my 401k. I got this. I got
that. Maybe I should go to Africa and work for a year. Maybe I should follow my
dream of being a carpenter. That's the whole idea behind the special. It's
encouraging people to come alive.
I think it really is
a movement with kids saying enough of this madness. I want to go back to basics
and go where my heart is. There's a great quote by an evangelist, his name is Howard
Thurman. The quote is (and I live by this quote every day), 'Don't ask yourself
what the world needs. Ask yourself what it is that makes you come alive. And
then go to that. Because what the world needs is men and women who are fully
alive.'
What I did was let
my parents talk me into what their world wanted for me, which was to go to
school, study chemistry and physics. But in my heart, I wanted to be a
performer, and eventually [my muse] tracked me down and I quit school and
became that.
Diana: Oh, that's wonderful. Thanks for sharing all of
this with me.
To me, 'Alive' tells an unending story of successful
creative integration of ages, cultures, ethnicities and mentalities. I think
it's a wonderful program.
John: Well,
thank you, and thank you for doing this interview. It gives me an opportunity
to share about it, and, as you can tell, I'm passionate about it.
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www.JohnTeshAlive.com
offers music and video clips for viewing
and listening and some for downloading free.
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Diana deRegnier writes the column SpiritLinks from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her articles appear in numerous Internet and print publications across America and around the world. © Copyright 2008 by Diana deRegnier.