Soul-Soaring Performance — by a Teacher

[Anna Billings]

Always a thrill to witness full-out, high-spirited expression from a performer. This is a first audition on a UK talent show (the X Factor). His profession? Teacher! Wonderful that he gets a big cheer from the audience after announcing he's a teacher even before he opens his mouth to sing. Yay teachers! Then he performs and ... wow. :-)

If you haven't seen it yet (it's been out for a couple of months) or even if you have (worth another watch), here's the link to the You Tube Video. Embed is disabled, so you'll have to watch it there, but worth the time for an extra click! It's about 5 minutes long.

Enjoy! And be proud you're a teacher!!! You rock!

[Anna Billings]

I'm seeing the parallel with this guy's performance and teaching — not that teaching is or needs to be a performance, but there's a shared quality that I see here. It's contact and connection. He's really communicating with the audience (and the judges) in what seems to me to be a very authentic expression of himself. His expression includes an acknowledgment of his relationship to the listeners. His joy and enthusiasm are inviting and contagious. His expressiveness allows and invites us to be more of ourselves out there in the world. I know that's a quality so many good teachers have whether performer/entertainer or not. It's just about real communication — in whatever your own personal style is. Hats off to teachers!

[Or-Tal Kiriati]

Thanks for this post. I am so with you. It's so obvious that his connection is something else. My mother, a retired teacher, always said that teaching is performing, acting and that she often feels on stage when she teaches.

Ooh, and I love to know what he teaches, where and to what ages....

By the way - this was in August. This guy's name was dragged in mud since then. Sad. Hope it won't affect his teaching career...