July 26, 2013
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Decide for Yourself?
I had an interesting experience at SPAC last night. A family friend was kind enough to provide us with free tickets and another was kind enough to drive our party of four to Saratoga. The ballet was modern rather than classical. I lack the sophistication to comprehend some facets of modern art forms and kept searching through the program to find some explanation of what we were being shown on the stage, but did not find one. The people sitting behind us were relatives of one of the dancers, and during an intermission I started up what turned out to be a very enlightening conversation with the fellow behind me. I mentioned that the dancing was very well done, but that I might have enjoyed it more had program notes been provided to help me understand the message that was being presented. He told me that no explanation is exactly the point. Each viewer is free to decide his or her own interpretation, and there is no correct or incorrect one. Whatever one sees in the dance becomes truth to the viewer. It was a challenge to erase rules and boundaries and to think out of the box. Whatever truths that an individual finds becomes truth for that individual. It is no problem if the truth varies from person to person. We are all free to decide for ourselves. This reminds me of Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve were faced with the same challenge, "Has God really said..."
