Cross Cultural Collaborations - Silk Road Project

Many artists all over the world try to collaborate across cultures, genres and artistic disciplines. Throwing eastern art forms and mixing in with western art forms, classical with hip-hop and ballet with break dance are some of the outcome of these collaborations and/or crossovers. It is really taking the energy in one space and bringing it into another space like classical crossover artists like Vanessa Mae who made classical violin playing "hip." The main difficulty with such collaborations is first finding an artist who has mastered his own instrument AND is willing to push the envelop by collaborating with another artist. Typically when you put two accomplished artists in a room the EGO blows them apart. They each want to dominate - they each hog the limelight and want their instrument to prevail. So often you see this become more a test of character and the friendship/bond between the two collaborating artists than mere music making or cross-cultural offering. In the worst case both artists produce something that they feel dilutes their voice and dishonors their craft. In the best case the artist finds it a transformative experience and one that not only allows him to gain a deeper and surer understanding of his own instrument but also opens up his mind and heart to new possibilities as to where he can take his artistry via collaborations. The Silk Road project, the brainchild of Yo-Yo-Ma seeks to provide a safe and meaningful forum where artists can collaborate, grow and contribute. This tabla player who is part of the Silk Road ensemble talks about the far reaching effect that the collaboration had on his life and world view.