The Joy of Simple Gestures

Hull pottery with Samuel Gelber's 'Landscape with Moons', 1995

Noah Gelber is a person of many talents: he is a choreographer, ballet master, professor of dance, book illustrator and singer. Born in New York City, he announced to his parents at the age of five that he was going to be a dancer. He trained at the School of American Ballet for eleven years, then spent most of his professional life in Europe, joining William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet in 1992 at a time when Forsythe was revolutionizing contemporary ballet and dance improvisation methodologies. Noah is an authority on Forsythe’s choreography and style, having staged his works for over fifty companies all over the world.

Noah is spending his summer up in Maine, far away from the noise of the cities and the ballet companies that make up his daily life throughout most of the year. He has exchanged the challenges of the rehearsal studio and the stage with a more basic battle: keeping nature from encroaching on his family’s old farmhouse. He spends his days weeding and nurturing gardens, pruning vines, clearing invasive thorny bushes, and caring for endless itchy insect bites. But his daily highlight is his Japanese ‘Chanoyu’, or ’Way of Tea’ ceremony. Lina talked to Noah about self-care and about his tea ceremony practices.

Lina: As a teen, what sort of things did you enjoy doing when you had time to relax?
Noah: I’m less sure I ever really “relaxed”. Outside my daily academic school and ballet school training, I used to squeeze in as many extra classes in different dance disciplines as I could. Jazz, contemporary, Graham technique, flamenco, even some tap dancing. I was fortunate to be in New York City, where all of these classes were so readily available in different places. I was passionate and insatiable; I would throw on my street clothes over my dance gear and run from studio to studio. At that age my energy seemed endless, and the more classes I could attend, the better I felt. I do also remember drawing a lot, mostly cartoons and creative images I would paint on shirts and sell.

Lina: If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give to your teenage self on how to find the right balance between work and relaxation?

Noah: I’m less sure I would tell myself to “work" less. But I would tell myself to focus less on the sensation of physical effort/exertion, instead accentuating the freedom and release of pure movement. I’d advise myself to be less self-critical and not waste time obsessing over tiny details that distracted attention away from my better qualities. I would explain that the more attention I brought to the things I disliked about myself, the more I tainted others’ impressions of me. I would remind myself to take to heart the encouragement of certain nurturing teachers whose advice was constructive and wise. And I would advise myself to fully disregard the damaging insults and injurious discouragements of certain others. Lastly, I would convince myself to be more gracious about accepting well-intentioned compliments, to simply say “Thank you” instead of arguing.

Lina: Tell us about the tea ceremony. What is it and how did you get interested in it? Do you perform it every day?

Noah: The Japanese ‘Way of Tea’ practice has a long, rich and fascinating history which I encourage everyone to read about. In my eyes, above all, the tea ceremony is a way of bringing people together, of connecting in an atmosphere of respect and hospitality. Hierarchy and differences are set aside, all participants are equal in the common pursuit of something as simple as sharing a bowl of warm tea. And I find this introspective atmosphere can be enjoyed just as equally, by one individual alone.

I do aim to practice the tea ceremony every day. On days when I miss it, I find myself yearning for it. My interest fortified over the last 5 years, expanding from a short morning ritual I based upon a tea ceremony I witnessed in Japan, into a more formalized practice I continue augmenting via increasing study and research. I now follow the Urasenke school approach. But I’m still very much a novice, just a beginner.

Lina: How do you feel after the tea ceremony? Why do you think the ceremony has this effect on you?

Noah: I find the principles of my tea ceremony practices enter into my overall approach to many different aspects of daily living. It is a process of learning and attentiveness which is ever ongoing, so long as one is present. I find the practice grounding, a quiet haven within the undulating swirl of my life. After foraging and creating my little ‘Chabana’ flower arrangement, warming the water, choosing the day’s tea set, and carefully arranging everything in its place, preparing the matcha tea, drinking it, finishing the ceremony, cleaning and putting away all the utensils, the subsequent movements of the rest of my day maintain a heightened awareness. I feel that the calm, ceremonial nature of simple gestures, perpetuates. I feel more thankful for the little things that appear and occur.

Lina: Do you have any other methods that help you to stay centered and calm?

Noah: As a teenager, I inherited from my mother a passion for collecting certain kinds of vintage US pottery. This patient pursuit has continued and slowly expanded over 30 years. With my increasing interest in the tea ceremonies, these vintage tea sets began descending from their habitual storage shelves, to be regularly cleaned, appreciated, and felt in hand. I adapted the traditionally prescribed Japanese tea set-up, to incorporate these beloved antique bowls, teapots and pitchers.

Then during covid lockdown in spring 2020, I moved my tea ceremony to the solitude of my father, Samuel Gelber’s painting studio. My father is a master painter, with an impressive archive of remarkable paintings spanning from the mid-1950s until the present day. A moment arose when my desire to regularly view and celebrate more of his beautiful artwork inspired me to begin setting up his paintings as backdrops for my daily tea ceremonies. This turned into an ongoing labor of love that fills me with great pleasure and daily purpose. I continue to pair his paintings with different tea settings, photograph and document them, then post them in Facebook and Instagram. In this manner I can enjoy, immortalize and share three distinct artistic passions, which complement and enhance each other in surprisingly diverse and expressive ways.

Hull/McCoy pottery with Samuel Gelber's 'Still-life with Roll-top Desk', 1977-78

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