The sound of music

I spent a very cold December night in an Ottawa church, where I witnessed something amazing.

People in Ottawa. Clapping and dancing. At some times, even singing.

In Ottawa.

At a concert.

In Ottawa.

Seriously. Ottawa!

I have never, ever seen anything like it. I took my mom-in-law to the Soweto Gospel Choir concert and it was fabulous. It took people a little while to warm up - there were small pockets of hipsters dancing at first, and mostly in the standing-room-only sections, and everyone around me turned to look the first time I whooped in appreciation. But by the end of the first half, people were clapping and grooving in their pews, and whistling and yelling. By the time they closed the show with Oh Happy Day*, it was like nothing I've seen in almost a decade here. I still can't get over it. The entire church (it was at Dominion-Chalmers) was rocking. There wasn't a single person sitting down. Maybe that's what Ottawa needs - a gospel choir.

The whole thing reminded me a little of the Rwandan dancers I had been lucky to see - twice - when I was in Kigali (we stumbled onto a national competition when we were looking for a market). The dance styles are different, and I have to say I prefer the Rwandan style (skip to 3:45 where it really gets going). Seeing the performers tonight also reminded me of the incredible sense of masculinity the male Rwandan dancers give off while they're performing. Every dance looked to me like the opening scene of a mating ritual. I've never seen anything like that either, and especially not in sleepy Ottawa.

*Or, if you prefer...**
**Okay, I may have linked to that to enable me to link to this too - because everyone needs a little Whoopi, minus the Elisabeth.