Daniel Stewart opened his kirtan at The John Anson Ford Theatre last Monday night with the words, “There is a light in the Universe. We are all that energy. The physicists tell us that. We must manifest our highest energy, and that’s my wish for us tonight.”
As the crowd gathered under the stars on comfy pillows at the amphitheater, many of them had never even heard of kirtan, an Indian devotional practice where hymns or mantras are overlaid on top of melodies to create an ecstatic, meditative experience. The concert was part of The Ford’s Monday night interactive J.A.M. Sessions series, sponsored by the Irvine Foundation. What’s unique about this series is that audience participation is encouraged and kirtan’s call-and-response format fits in perfectly with that format. Other J.A.M. session offerings have included performing arts as diverse as tango dancing, Middle Eastern frame drumming, and Japanese Ondo Dancing.
The crowd knew they were in for something different when Ilaan E. Mazzini, the Community Initiatives Program Manager — and a kirtan fan herself — suggested the audience move out of their auditorium seats and onto the stage near the band. Although there was a large crowd of Daniel’s fans who had converged from the yoga world, many others were J.A.M. series regulars who had never been exposed to the interactive kirtan experience. Daniel loosened up the crowd by explaining the concept of sangha and community and asked people to introduce themselves to their neighbors. He then explained, simply and in a very welcoming manner, how a kirtan works.
As twilight descended on the outdoor stage, the band began with a chant to Ganesha to initiate the auspicious event. By the second chant, Jai Ma, some of the yoga crowd had gotten onto their feet and were dancing. Daniel kept the festive atmosphere going with beautifully poignant, funny, and simple explanations of the different chants and the spiritual concepts behind them. At one point, a little boy was encouraged to sing onstage with Daniel, chanting Hare Krishna, tentatively at first, but loosening up with love and encouragement. Soon other children joined him onstage and started a frolicking dance party, with kids and grownups alike shakin’ their booties to the bhakti bliss.
Daniel, with rock star charisma and an open heart, strolled into the crowd to allow audience members to sing into his microphone, unleashing their hidden kirtan wallahs. By the end of the show, the band had truly created community between friends and strangers, explored spiritual principles, exposed newbies to the kirtan magic, and had a rockin’ great time.
J.A.M. Sessions will continue through the summer every Monday night through September: fordtheatres.org
Learn more about Daniel Stewart, his band, kirtan, and Rising Lotus Yoga, the studio he co-owns in Sherman Oaks: danielstewart.com
