tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post6621037317121748584..comments2012-05-09T20:09:35.129-04:00Comments on Quotes and Thoughts: The Art of DanceAdielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06577148168309526848noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-30397258496603852422008-02-20T16:00:00.000-05:002008-02-20T16:00:00.000-05:00Donna B,What you've said makes a lot of sense. Whi...Donna B,<BR/>What you've said makes a lot of sense. While I'm still not sure we can truly define something like dance and what its purpose is (the same goes for music, painting, etc.) but I think the way you've described true dance is insightful and helpful. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.Adielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06577148168309526848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-52419341176873142392008-02-19T17:07:00.000-05:002008-02-19T17:07:00.000-05:00There are dances of sorrow, I know. I have never d...There are dances of sorrow, I know. I have never danced them. Sorrow takes the dance out of me. Perhaps my sorrow has never been deep enough. Perhaps therefore my underlying joy has never been deep enough. Or perhaps my faith is so small that I cannot count even my common everyday sorrows as joy.<BR/>Ecclesiastes 3:4 puts mourning and dancing as opposites.Perhaps it was Christ's coming and conquering death that makes mourning itself so it can be clothed in dance. I still think that joy is at the core of the dance. <BR/><BR/>I don't think that beauty is secondary, really. I think it is necessary, at least when we get to talking about ideals. I guess, to answer your original question more directly, I would say that "true" "ideal" dance, would be the perfect expression of joy, not precluding sorrow. That perfect expression is by definition, beautiful.<BR/><BR/>so there is a lot of dance out there that *is* dance, that imho, would come closer to athleticism or art than to ideal dance, to the purpose of dance.Donna Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14235514950908851561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-8206662905733413502008-02-19T16:54:00.000-05:002008-02-19T16:54:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Donna Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14235514950908851561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-26577363974947324922008-02-06T20:20:00.000-05:002008-02-06T20:20:00.000-05:00I'd have to disagree that joy is the core of dance...I'd have to disagree that joy is the core of dance. I've danced with sorrow just as much as I've danced joyfully. But I do agree that our emotion and expression are at the core of dance and the "artsy" and beautiful parts are secondary.<BR/>I'm not trying to find a definition for dance, but dance is such a mysterious thing to me that I couldn't help but ask questions and wonder about it.Adielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06577148168309526848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-56182843438283731492008-02-05T12:41:00.000-05:002008-02-05T12:41:00.000-05:00I think that dance is primarily a gift of God mean...I think that dance is primarily a gift of God meant to express joy---the creativity and beauty of movement are part of that, but not at its core. The core is joy.Donna Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14235514950908851561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-69944041297569585672008-02-02T15:58:00.000-05:002008-02-02T15:58:00.000-05:00I have taken various styles of dance throughout th...I have taken various styles of dance throughout the years. Altough I have my favorites, I feel it is ultimately an expresstion of how you are feeling. Sometimes this changes. If your feeling happy you may want to dance one way, however if you are feeling sad you may feel like dancing another way....so on for all feelings. So I definately dont feel there is a "true" way of dance, only to be true to yourselfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-10355052482137272152008-02-02T12:47:00.000-05:002008-02-02T12:47:00.000-05:00Okay, I get it now. That makes more sense to me.I...Okay, I get it now. That makes more sense to me.<BR/><BR/>I'd still contend that #2 wasn't jazz-influenced ballet, but ballet-influenced jazz, because certain arm and leg movements were simply outside the pale of proper balletic movement, while there's no such thing as outside the pale of proper jazz movement. But that's a minor quibble.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-76037991697031189162008-02-02T12:23:00.000-05:002008-02-02T12:23:00.000-05:00Oops! I should have known better than to knock bal...Oops! I should have known better than to knock ballet in front of a Ballet Mom. ;-) Yes, example #1 was an exaggerated example of cold, stiff ballet, but I used it because I think it conveys how I <I>feel</I> about ballet in general. And, while the second example isn’t true classical ballet, it is still ballet, but with heavy modern/jazz influences. Even when I was taking ballet lessons I always enjoyed when the teacher would throw in a jazzy twist to ballet. Part of the reason I started with these ballet videos was to show where I am coming from. I originally thought that classical ballet was the essence of dance until I was introduced to other “looser” versions. Over the years, I’ve discovered so many other forms of dance that I was able to finally realize that ballet really doesn’t suit me at all. <BR/><BR/>That said, it doesn’t follow that I therefore can’t appreciate the art of ballet done well. When I saw last year’s production of The Nutcracker, I was very impressed with the talent displayed on stage. And when Jenny came out and danced her snow dance I cried because it was so very, very beautiful. <BR/><BR/>If I’m going to dance for emotional expression I’d rather use a style similar to house dance or “modern dance” because I feel they can better facilitate my personality and emotions. When I dance ballet I feel almost as lifeless as that first video. <BR/><BR/>Also, please bear in mind that I was trying to put this post together while being surrounded by loud little kids so I wasn’t able to put intense, deep thoughts and wording into it. I’m sure you can understand that scenario. ;-)Adielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06577148168309526848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-73649610303789099792008-02-02T09:48:00.000-05:002008-02-02T09:48:00.000-05:00Ballet defense time:That first one was a horrible ...Ballet defense time:<BR/><BR/>That first one was a horrible example of ballet. Technically it was okay, but I don't think ballet was ever intended to be that cold and passive. Either the dancers, choreographer, or director of that piece (or all of them) were evidently lacking in some degree of real talent to pull something off like that. Even a slowly done piece like that could have radiated more emotion and life. So IMO you should use that, at best, as an example of why you don't like <I>badly done</I> ballet.<BR/><BR/>The second one really wasn't ballet at all. The only resemblance to ballet was the pointe shoes -- otherwise, it was a Broadway/jazz piece.<BR/><BR/>But if you saw "The Nutcracker" and "don't like ballet," I guess you really don't like classical ballet. It wasn't the highest level of technical perfection, but there was far more warmth and exuberance to it, including in the formal pas de deux pieces. I just don't think using such an awful example as your clip #1 gives a fair example of why someone wouldn't like ballet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23878882.post-28167686317946195322008-02-01T15:42:00.000-05:002008-02-01T15:42:00.000-05:00I don't have any thoughts in particular about danc...I don't have any thoughts in particular about dance, but I do have some thoughts about art. I think that often we get too caught up in the question of what is art and what isn't art and we then miss all kinds of opportunities to be creative. Some time back I was talking with Theresa and some others about folding laundry. She was telling us how much she enjoys folding laundry sometimes. Not just the finished product, but the movement of the laundry and the movement of the folding. Seth said that he wanted her to choreograph an interpretive dance all about folding laundry. She hasn't done it yet, but I think it would be awesome. Would that be dance? Would it be art? <BR/><BR/>My thoughts about dance are almost exactly the same as my thoughts about art. If you feel creative and like you want to do something or feel like you just gotta move than do it. Don't fret on whether it's dance or art or not. Just move and use your movement to bless somebody else.<BR/><BR/>Now, to be clear and honest, just because I believe this doesn't mean that I don't act like a snob sometimes and declare this or that to be lesser art or not art at all. I have my own preferences which line up with yours rather well, Adiel, and I tend to look down on that which I don't appreciate. That just makes me a snobbish sinner; I hope it doesn't invalidate my point.Gabriellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05564684423399340421noreply@blogger.com