The "ultimate thrill"

It has been a family tradition for us for many years to perform and for those of you who know me, know that I like to have fun with music, absolutely love the thrill of being on stage, yearn for the excitement and the anticipation right before a performance, long for those sleepless nights when all I could think of is the show, the sound of "ghungur", the rhythm and the beats and ultimately seeing the look on the faces of those who crave for music. My universe revolves around it and it is a world that to me only I own; it is my ultimate comfort zone. Then how was I willing to step outside of that and not perform on the 22 nd show? Many asked, many were surprised and many thought I was not given a choice. But I still remember Taps asking me if I wanted to dance and this was the first time I found myself refusing to perform as I was longing to work behind the scene.


The fact is I wanted to know what it takes to create that comfort zone, beyond the limits of the stage. I wanted to find out what is it that makes performers like Taps always say that they enjoy rehearsals and all the behind the scene work a lot more than being in lime light. How could that be? Well, I found out, as I stepped aside to experience the "ultimate thrill" as many may call it, and explored the behind the scene work. The intricacy of actually crafting a show was beyond my imagination until now! The excitement of meeting new people, making friends, all the hard work, the laughter and the fun in creating the environment for music and for performance, the drive, the dedication and most importantly the team work involved to hold it all together, allowed me to see a world that I had never seen before. Watching a show blossom into something so wonderful is something that can only be experienced and cannot be explained with the clicks of the keys from my computer. I always wanted to be known as a performer and after the show many only knew me as someone who was at the entrance or at the DVD booth. The fact is it didn't matter to me because today, I can finally say that I got to have the experience of a lifetime; the "ultimate thrill"! Today, if I had to choose again between performing and being back stage, my choice for AK will remain the same. It is the same excitement and the anticipation, the same sleepless nights, the same sound of rhythm and beats that aspire me to conquer whats beyond my comfort zone and expand my horizon to a "limitless boundary".

- Pusha Karim
on behalf of Amra Kojon