The relationship between performance as a means to broadly

In this study, three out of four of the narratives that predicted joy in performance (‘people-oriented’, ‘source-oriented’, and ‘magical-moment’) made sense of

performance as a means to connect with the wider world, highlighted the transcendent quality of the experience, and conceived self within a larger, more meaningful context. These narratives added meaning to performance, and appeared to be inspiring.

The ‘source-oriented’ narrative emphasised the transcendent origin of the experience. Performers who scored high in this narrative did not view themselves as the real source of music, but felt the music was ‘coming from elsewhere’ and perceived themselves as channels through which the music just flowed. They attributed part of the experience to their personality (something that one receives), and viewed themselves as co-creators (together with the source of music) rather than as sole agents in performance.

The ‘magical moment’ narrative, in which performers believe that performance might bring about ‘magical moments’ (that is, ‘perfect’ moments in which the performer performs better than expected, and ‘something great’ may just happen), also prompted a higher frequency of joyful performance experiences. This narrative highlights ‘feelings of transcendence’, and was in fact the only narrative in which ‘transcendence’ was explicitly mentioned.

The link found between performance and transcendence is not surprising, as performance is often described in terms of transcendence (i.e. Ascenso et al., 2016; Bernard, 2009; Guevara, 2007; Lamont, 2012). Moreover, conceiving of performance in terms of ‘magic moments’ seems to be associated with ‘strong’ performance

experiences. In Lamont’ s research, as much as 37 per cent of performers described their ‘strong’ experience in terms of ‘magic moments’, while 26 per cent reported them as ‘Unique, fantastic, incredible, unforgettable experience’ (2012: 581). The findings of this study suggest that narratives that nourish the expectation for these ‘magical-

While the biological discipline can provide an enlightening perspective on the reason why ‘people-oriented’ narratives might promote more joy in performance than narratives that are exclusively self-centred, they cannot explain the link between the ‘source-oriented’ or ‘magical-moments’ narratives and performance-related joy. Unlike animals, humans are not only subject to the mandates of biology, but also to mandates that seem to go beyond the preservation of the species. Humans strive for achievement and relationship, but they also appear to seek to transcend self through other means, such as spirituality (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000; Emmons, 2005; Hill & Pargament, 2003; Piedmont, 2007; Schnell, 2011; Wong, 1998).

Spirituality encompasses a search for meaning, unity, connectedness, transcendence and for the highest human potential (Pargament, 1997). It embraces the notion of finding sacredness in the ordinary events of daily life and feeling interconnected with everything. Spirituality is strongly linked to transcendence, and some use both terms interchangeably (see Palmer, 2006). Emmons, Cheung & Tehnari point to this link and state that

Strivings that are oriented above and beyond the self, that reflect an integration of the individual with larger and more complex units, or that reflect deepening or maintaining a relationship with a higher power, show a desire to transcend the self. Strivings are coded as spiritual if they reflect concern for an integration of the person with larger and more complex units: with humanity, nature, with the cosmos (1998: 409).

According to this conception of spirituality, the ‘people-oriented’, ‘source-oriented’ and ‘magical moment’ narratives might be viewed as expressing self-transcendent or

spiritual strivings, as all three make sense of performance in terms of connection with the external world. The ‘people-oriented’ narrative in particular appears to value connection with other people, the ‘source-oriented’ narrative emphasises connection with ‘the music’, and the ‘magical moment’ narrative points to a broad sense of transcendence or connection.

It has been argued that the presence of spiritual strivings within a person’s goal hierarchy predicts greater subjective well-being and, in particular, higher positive effects than merely achievement strivings (Emmons, 1991, 2003). This might be due to

spiritual strivings reducing overall conflict within a person’s goal system and promoting a greater degree of integration (Emmons et al., 1998). Greater well-being might also result from the specific pattern of appraisals that characterise spiritual strivings (greater value, instrumentality and intrinsicness, and less conflict, effort, and difficulty)

(Emmons et al., 1998). In addition, spirituality might have some ability to buffer stress. For instance, an individual’s well-being might be determined by his or her ability to utilise spiritual appraisal of stressors, spiritual coping and spiritual connections to potentially mediate or moderate the detrimental influence of stress on well-being (Bell, Rajendran & Theiler, 2012; Gall, Charbonneau, Clarke, Grant, Joseph, & Shouldice, 2005). Thus, based on all the above, it could be expected that the three narratives that expressed spiritual beliefs and strivings would predict both a higher frequency of ‘highly enjoyable’ performances and a lower frequency of ‘stressful’ performances. However, in this study these narratives predicted joy, but only the ‘people-oriented’ narrative appeared to protect performers from anxiety too.

The superiority of the ‘people-oriented’ over the other narratives (be they self-oriented or self-transcendent) in promoting best performance experiences may be due to the fact that a performance is defined by the presence of an audience. Therefore it makes sense that a narrative that conceives of performance as a means to connect with the audience, cultivates appreciation for such an audience, and values the purpose of performing for it, might be the most pertinent, healthy and inspiring in the performance context. Conceiving performance as providing opportunities for connection, and conceiving of oneself as a ‘giver’ (which implies that one has something to give, and the desire to give it), might in fact facilitate optimal performance experiences (Ascenso et al., 2016; Guevara, 2007).

In summary, it seems that not all positive narratives are equal in predicting joy or anxiety in performance. While the ‘people-oriented’, ‘source-oriented’, ‘self-oriented’ and ‘magic-oriented’ narratives were found to be helpful and to promote joy in

performance, the ‘people-oriented’ narrative was found to be superior to the other narratives, as it was the stronger predictor of frequent highly enjoyable performances, and the only narrative that predicted, in addition, a lower frequency of stressful performances. It seems from these results that, in order to enjoy performance, performers should find meaning in the activity. However, making meaning of

performance in terms of the ‘people-oriented’ narrative – which includes the belief that performance is a means to connect and contribute, and valuing and seeking such connection and contribution – is the most adaptive in the performance context, and promotes the best quality of performance experiences (a higher increase of joy and a simultaneous reduction of anxiety). However, it is important to keep in mind that the narratives identified in this study are not mutually exclusive.

4.4 Narratives that make meaning of performance in terms of