Dance as Reality

Melissa Hamilton & Eric Underwood in Tryst as part of the Royal Ballet's triple bill. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

One of my students asked me this weekend if I had seen a recent episode of "So You Think You Can Dance". I told him I didn't believe in such things. Upon reflection, he deserved a better answer. And I know this is something that my fellow dance teachers and I discuss frequently, and can disagree on.

I love what reality shows have done for the profile of dance in American. People see it. They enjoy it. More than they have done those things in the past.

My problem is that reality TV is not translating into real life. Are more people going to dance concerts because of these programs? Are more enrolling dance classes?

More deeply, is dance being seen as an art form of communication, or simply a physical feat of beauty? In musical theatre dance, the movement is tied to the words. However, I try to carry a theme of movement through a piece, or a motivation. Many of my students don't recognize it until I point it out. Is anyone taking the time to do that on SYTCD and related shows? Are we making audiences look for connections and depth, or simply tying movement to a popular song, to get the dance to be popular too?

I read in Dance Teacher magazine, in the history column on the New Dance Group, "The young art form of modern dance was empowered and validated by its alignment with the political and social issues of the day….It was a complete dance entity simmering in a social, political and cultural stew….they cared and water to use their art to raise social consciousness."

Are today's dance shows raising the social consciousness? Are we challenging ideals, norms, and stances? Are we standing for anything? Or just entertaining?

I truly don't know the answers to these questions, as I stopped watching many of these shows after one season, finding that the answers to all of my above questions were not acceptable. Have they changed? Is the awareness and appreciation they bring to the art of dance worthwhile anyway? Should I give them all another chance? Feedback and comments welcome!

Let's Review- Week of 9/10

Art
Adam Thurman reminds us that people get involved and excited about passion, not cynicism.

The Americans for the Arts ArtsBlog had a salon this week on the Common Core standards and integrating arts into the curriculum. Many interesting posts for those doing arts education.

Over at Parabasis, the Dangerous Myth of the Individual Artist. I think I’m going to use his post as a jumping off point for one of my own. Money quote:

I really do feel that the myth of the individual artist is seriously damaging to our creative capacity and our humanity. People deny the influences that helped birth them, screw over their collaborators, and tell obviously BS stories to create a myth about themselves.  And one of the reasons why people do this is that we want to believe that the individual is the core unit of creating art.  But even in art with only one person's name on it, that's simply untrue.

Theatre
A frickin’ fantastic post by Polly Carl called “Truthiness in the Politics of Theatre”. Incredibly thought provoking and well-worth the read. Just a taste:

Our problem with straightforward communication has everything to do with how good we are at producing stories, at weaving those tiny multiple threads on our stages. We understand in the very fabric of our DNA as theater practitioners what Foucault is saying—that the more successful the production can persuade and convince, the more power we have to not only get our audiences to return for the next production and maybe even donate to our theater, but the more power we have to shape the country we want to live in. My concern is that our producing acumen is causing us to believe our own spin and to lose sight of what values must lie beneath our productions.

Dance
A great article in The Nation about one of my favorite choreographers, Paul Taylor.

A Huffington Post column on how dance fits into the arts and senses.

Musicals
Isherwood takes on movie musicals, finding, of course, the stage versions to have more tension and texture, as well as intimacy.

Labor Day Reflection

Source: mth2011.tumblr.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Today is a holiday. I have spent it working on this site. New pictures and videos, a new blog post. 

I'm often told I work too much. But honestly, it doesn't feel like work to me. I recognize that I am incredibly blessed to be making a living doing exactly what I want to be doing. Seth Godin writes about passionate workers, those who find fun in their work, for whom "work is the thing you'd most like to do". 

I'm creating art. I'm helping children create art. And I can't wait to get back to work. What? Oh, there's rehearsal tonight? Awesome.

Art in Competition

Winners! My students just participated in 2 dance competitions. I have a love/hate relationship with dance competitions.

I love that it gives the kids something to work toward. More than just an end-of-the-year recital. This way, all those weeks and weeks of work get to be performed more than once and seen by more than just parents! Additionally, competition helps them set goals, and measure success.

However, there are plenty of issues. Beyond what I perceive as an objectification of little girls, which is a pretty big issue, in and of itself. There is the question of how we quantify art.

Some things, like technique, are a bit easier to measure. Are their toes pointed? Are their legs straight? Are their turns in the right position, with the correct spot, and done in precision? Are their formations clean?

Then, we get to the performance aspect. Are they in character? Is their intent clear?  Are they focused and “in the moment”?

And then, the questions that I think are super-important, and seem not to be addressed. Do the dancers understand what they are doing- in the technique and the performance realms? Is the audience engaged in the performance? Did the students enjoy the process of learning and performing?

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Do we Teach the Product? Or the Process? And, Does it Matter?

Source: modernparentsmessykids.com via Nicole on Pinterest

April was full of events. Actually, most of them occurred all in 1 week! My high school students presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream and their semester dance performance. My students at Hedgerow performed for a fundraiser. Through it all, I was coaching, correcting, writing program notes, performing as well, and just generally hoping for the best.

Weeks like that are the best and the worst. We celebrate as all of our hard work, scolds, suggestions and teaching become a beautiful final product. And, we worry that it won’t. Somehow, it always seems to “come together”. Yet, I’m concerned that miracle of adrenaline is something we take for granted. Do we, as teachers and directors, just trust it will “come together”, and then not instill in our students the importance of discipline, rehearsing as you would perform, and taking pride in one’s work, as much in the process as the product?

If we do not encourage our students to be disciplined- prepared, on time, respectful of the process, their peers and their authorities- we miss a chance to prepare them for college and jobs, where they will not have us there to remind them.

If we do not have them rehearse as they perform, we do not teach them that the arts, and most things in life, are group efforts. That the actions (or lack thereof) of one person has a ripple affect on the group, with consequences s/he may not foresee when focused on him/herself.

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