Good for Mind, Body and Soul

Chuangliang leads dancers at the '05 fest.

By Paul Omundson
Idea Hall

I couldn't believe it. The bulldog had morphed into a ballerina.

Chungliang Al Huang enabled me to find the graceful dancer within. No matter my awkward, klutzy movements, obvious lack of physical grace, apprehension, or two left feet. That all melted in the first moments of the Tai Ji master's "Flowing Tao" session last year in the Hult lobby.

What a remarkable transformation as we stood in concentric circles, moving slowly, listening intently as Chungliang's metaphors and Lorna McGhee's flute opened a path for us to experience "chi," the creative life force in Chinese philosophy. The term "Tai Ji" refers to the ancient Chinese idea of two opposite but complementary forces (yin and yang) as the foundation of creation.

Chungliang led our Oregon Bach Festival Hult group through a Qigong ritual (Chinese for "energy work"). We intertwined arms and then linked to the whole universe through our movements - reaching up to heaven above, earth below and then turning in all directions. The master introduced us to the five elements (the cornerstones of Tai Ji); fire, water, tree or wood element, metal and earth.

I was transfixed. I felt Lorna's music flowing through me. In the serene, joyous moments after the exercise I was deeply, profoundly connected to those around me and, indeed, to everything. Through the movements of Tai Ji I felt intimately a part of a world suddenly vibrant and alive.

It didn't matter if we were beginners or experts. This is where Chungliang differs markedly from many of his peers. He isn't so concerned about attaining correct form. He just wants us to get off our butts and plunge into the dance and get a feel for the form. To help people like me get the most out of an initial experience, he often mixes experienced Tai Ji practitioners with novices.

This year's festival has four Tai Ji seminars June 29-July 1, each two hours. You can attend one or all, as they are not in a sequence. These will include the first circle, where participants dance and play with a ball of "chi" (a ball of energy). Joseph Campbell calls the first circle "the hero's journey."

He will also dance in a "visual concert" accompanied by Lorna McGhee and other players July 1 at 2 pm in the Hult.

Good for Mind, Body and Soul

Chungliang's brand of Tai Ji is not just a spiritual awakening. It's a prescription for health.

His good friend, David Rutz, M.D., an avid Oregon Bach Festival attendee since the mid-1970s who practiced medicine at Sacred Heart in Eugene for 26 years, points out the very real mental and physical benefits.

"It has a way of energizing people and making them feel centered and joyful," he said. "When you feel energy in yourself you're a happier person. It lowers your blood pressure, relaxes you and alleviates stress. A medical study showed that if older people practice Tai Ji their balance and stability is significantly improved and they tend to fall less."

Three years ago at the festival David had a life-altering experience when he went to Chungliang's performance with pianist Robert Levin.

"I was mesmerized by it," he recalled. "Up until then I was a mind person, an intellectual, and what was missing in my life was movement. For the first time I was able to let the music come through me and I could embody it in movement. Music and dance are two forms of human activity where we manifest an energy we can't explain."

"I got very emotional about it," David recalled. "Since then, I truly understand what's going on when I see the conductor at the podium, moving and swaying with the music."

David also noticed from the program notes that Chungliang had worked closely with Alan Watts and Joseph Campbell, two scholars he greatly admired. So he struck up a conversation with Chungliang about them. The two immediately hit it off and, typical of the special camaraderie between artists and participants at the festival, they have become fast friends, and recently, colleagues, in promoting Tai Ji.

With palpable excitement, David told me a few days ago that he was "tuning up" for the 2006 Oregon Bach Festival by joining his teacher, mentor, and friend in Gold Beach to participate in Chungliang's Lan Ting Institute. This is an in-depth workshop for Chungliang's advanced students. When they're done the whole group will come to Eugene for the festival and the four Tai Ji seminars June 29 to July 2.

"Lang Ting means orchid pavilion," David said. "In China in 353 AD the tradition was started where poets, scholars, musicians, master calligraphers and martial arts experts gathered, interacted, and celebrated the joy of life and the flow of chi,"

David is enthusiastic about the progression of his own Tai Ji development-now to the point where he presents classes at his home in Springdale, Utah. Chungliang is always a welcomed and honored guest at David's new home, and has joined his student in workshops there.

If you visit Springdale, don't be surprised to see circles of dancers in the parks immersed in the bliss of their own Tai Ji. You'll know who the culprits are.

David was a longtime Eugene resident and seems apologetic about leaving town a few years ago. But you understand why when he describes the stunning beauty of nearby Zion National Park. "Outside of Eugene, this is probably the only other place that I'd live," he said.

Flutist extraordinaire

Acclaimed Scottish-born flutist Lorna McGhee returns to perform with Chungliang during the "Dancing Tao" concert July 1.

Festival attendees love her energy and passion. Her signature is playing with a unbounded joy that literally bubbles from her facial expressions as she weaves and bobs to the notes flowing from her.

"Chungliang's approach to music gets right to the essence of things," she told me a few days before this year's festival started. "He immerses himself completely in it. For him it's not just a cerebral or even emotional response, he allows his whole being to respond fully to the music."

Lorna went on to say that music is an exchange of energy. "As a listener you receive, but you can also participate enormously in the experience of live music by being open in this way."

The flutist explained that Chungliang has helped add an important new dimension to her art.

"There can be a certain rigidity in our training," she said, "brought on by the need for perfection, the competitiveness and high pressured work environment. But there is no room for rigidity of any kind in the Tai Ji philosophy."

In regards to her playing, Lorna said: "the ongoing challenge is to let go of unnecessary physical tension as well as rigid modes of thinking. I have always felt pretty free with my playing in terms of expression, but working with Chungliang helps me go to the edge. This can be quite scary for a performer, but also lots of fun. It's all about flow, and learning to dance."

As Lorna looks out at the audience during a festival performance what does she see?

"The concert shifts from a spectator sport to real human-to-human interaction, once again, a kind of dance," she replied.

Like the dance within ourselves, when we realize it's way past midnight, and our graceful inner ballerina is giving way to a slumbering bulldog. Hope to see you and all the awakened dancers at this year's Bach and Tai Ji events.

Blogger Paul Omundson is a music fan who writes for Los Angeles-based Idea Hall.