4 HOME
4 RESOURCES MENU
4 ARTICLES MENU
Conjecture 2.00 [excerpt]
by Kristian Larsen, New Zealand
Performance Maker
full text at
http://www.danznet.co.nz/sidestep.php3?article_id=79&type_id=2
At the beginning of the year I was invited to conduct some research with a group
of dancers through the Choreographic Platform. In the course of this workshop questions
came up about the challenges intrinsic to the work being undertaken. At one point
I asked the dancers to come up with movement they were good at. The workshop rapidly
ground to a halt. After a little inquiry it became apparent that the reason no one
felt they could achieve the task was because they felt that there was in fact nothing
they could do well. As the choreographer and key observer in the room I felt that
this was patently absurd. I had been repeatedly amazed at the individual skills and
generosity of the participants. So I steered the task towards contemplating an 'I
statement" then discussing responses. What ensued was a discussion that took
up the rest of the afternoon. The dancers felt this statement was too challenging
to say out loud. It was simply this:
"I AM A GOOD DANCER"
Every dancer in the room felt that it was impossible to or even a little dangerous
to say that statement with any real conviction or justification. The reasons behind
these objections was a familiar variation on a theme for anyone who is or has ever
been a dancer. Examples were "wrong body shape/overweight" "not flexible
/ strong / fast / dynamic / musical / experienced enough" "am never offered
any work so I mustn't be good enough" "not very fast at learning movement"
/ "I ask too many questions / am not obedient enough" etc. What it seemed
to come back to again and again was a feeling of low self worth as a dancer. This
begs the question - WHY?
As stated earlier in this essay we work in relatively impoverished conditions and
this can and does have a debilitating effect on morale. The primary emotional response
under current conditions to the success of a peer is usually jealousy. But there
are other factors at work here. The negative ideas and attitudes become evident when
listening to the conversations that dancers have when they get together, & by
observing how they behave towards one another in class and in work. There are astronomical
expectations and demands that they themselves place on their own abilities to deliver.
There is a kind of callousness that is common place amongst choreographers and teachers
towards the dancers and towards their own peers. There is a lack of generosity when
appraising each others work. I have not met a dancer who does not have an overdeveloped
ability to be critical of themselves & others. There are dancers who attempt
to compensate for this by inflating their own sense of stature and self importance
(an absurd and redundant behaviour in a culture that barely even recognizes contemporary
dance) There is an abundance of tertiary dance students who act as if they genuinely
believe their knowledge and abilities surpass those of current working practitioners.
There are extraordinarily talented freelancers who cannot accept a compliment about
their abilities to save themselves. How has this happened?
I was having a conversation with a colleague recently, a dancer. This colleague had
been teaching at a tertiary dance course and had come across a student who was unable
to perform handstands because of arthritis in her wrists. Disbelief at this student's
even considering a career in dance let alone being accepted on a dance course was
expressed along with the comment "... y'know there are dancers and then there
are dancers" If that were true then Catherine Chappell's 'Touch Compass'
would be discredited as a dance company. Statements like this are dangerously false.
It is more of a graphic indication of the mentality that underpins the disillusionment
experienced all too often by the dancer in New Zealand.
I believe that there is an insidious elitism at the heart of this unhealthy psychology.
and I believe that it's roots lie deep in the womb of modern dance - ballet. Not
in the technical aspect of ballet but in a preposterous and over simplistic point
of view that needs to be thought about more sensibly. That point of view is a belief
that in order to be a good dancer one must have extraordinary technique and that
this, and this alone is the yard stick for measuring ones self worth as a dancer.
I am not disqualifying technique nor the work that needs to be done to become a dancer.
I believe that form and clarity are critical aspects of quality communication. What
I am saying is there is no celebration or even validation of the extraordinary diversity
that exists in the community. There is a mentality of "put up or shut up"
in class and rehearsal. What does it take to feel good about oneself as a dancer
in this country?
Isn't it about time we did?
Kristian Larsen, 2002
Conjecture 2.00 [excerpt]
by Kristian Larsen, New Zealand
Performance Maker
full text at
http://www.danznet.co.nz/sidestep.php3?article_id=79&type_id=2
4 HOME
4 RESOURCES MENU
4 ARTICLES MENU