The FIRST ever Music in the Streets in London was a success!

I was really scared and anxious this week. I won’t hide this fact. We managed to keep everything under control, and came up with solutions in seconds. Having to rethink your whole plan on the first day of a project definitely destabilises you. I couldn’t relax until today (or last night, really) and now I’m in power-saving mode, but I really need to write about this experience to process it.

The workshops did not go as planned. We had to move to a hybrid approach a few hours before the first workshop started. I wasn’t mentally prepared to be as involved as I had to be. But we did achieve our goals fairly well - people created original songs, collaborated, worked as a team, gained some confidence, and (most importantly) enjoyed themselves.

However, last night was the most important. The concert. Because that wasn’t just a few people in a room working together, it was a live performance where people could see our names and faces. We didn’t have three days to make a good impression, we had a few hours.

And we f*kin did it!

We had three participants performing and three guest musicians that came on board more or less than 24 hours before the concert.

I sat down at a table during the last two performers and just watched. That was my ‘mindfulness’ moment. It was cold, but still, all the tables were filled. People were enjoying the music and the atmosphere, having a drink, and chatting. It was a little family. There were two moments when that was clear.

Moment 1. The ‘bin lorry’ (or the garbage truck, I don’t know what’s the correct British-English word, even after asking a real Brit)

Everyone ran to help us move things back. We cheered for the bin men (who were basically just doing their job, a very important job if you ask me), and then put all the equipment back. No one got up to leave, no one thought it was unprofessional. We managed to turn something that could’ve been embarrassing into something fun.

Moment 2. Going home

When the actual performance was done, we told people that they’re welcome to help us take things back inside. Everyone grabbed a table, grabbed a chair, grabbed a cable, grabbed a stand, grabbed a speaker, etc etc etc. People love helping and we love people who help.

These two moments are what made this a genuine DEIS event. The audience is not just an audience, the performers are not just performers. For those few hours, we were all a team, learning from each other, supporting each other.

A few years ago, at the third ‘Ducem muzica în stradă’ (Music in the Streets, Romania) our generator ran out of fuel. Everyone in the audience sat down on the ground and started singing random songs that everyone knew. A few minutes later, the power was back and we could continue.

Last night wasn’t just a live performance. Last night wasn’t just our first event in London.

Last night was proof that people need and enjoy what DEIS is. DEIS is about having fun and enjoying yourself. This is the best environment for learning. DEIS is about experiences that change something within yourself.

We are in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, running projects that were created in Baia Mare, a small town from Romania. That’s what I’m talking about!