the mixed media joy of modern dance as witnessed by (me!) ~topps
public "thank you!" here to the georges for treating us to this evening of dance.. and it was shared also with the wilson's.. so, 3 couples, and the mrs. of each of us has dance experience, and therefore a high appreciation
fancy nancy is currently dancing with joy of dance, and i have had the great pleasure of being wow'd by their dance recital -her lyrical and jazz performances
and awesome elva, she currently participates in both samba and latin dance classes, -and i had the great pleasure of being wow'd by a video i got to see of her dancing with her troupe 'through the sonic runway in san jose!' -which you know i love, love, love
if the sonic runway is not currently hosting public dance nights on the weekends; it should..
there should be more dancing in the world in general.. and i will get off track here, i can feel it, but samantha brown just took us to shanghai, china, and there was a great deal of dancing in the local parks by people of all ages..
and they look very happy, healthy and the positive social/fellowship.. the community factor
well, there should be much more dancing in the world in general. and many more flash mobs. the georges were sharing that flash mobs are very common in the UK..
-come on USA.. come on California.. bump it up
anyway, back to the dance recital at SJSU.. well, first off, it was not a dance recital. entirely different format; it was a dance students senior portfolio, where they are performing with faculty in the audience who will be judging, grading, etc.
essentially, their finals, -on stage. and very smart, to open this to the general public, and share these amazing performances with a larger audience
the biggest take away for me personally, -has to do with how i recently wrote about how lucky i feel, how blessed, to be a mixed media artist
especially in comparison to other, more specific artistries.. watercolor artist, sketch artist, oil painter, -you get the idea
and the reason i feel luckier, is because our options for what canvas we will use, for even what we turn into a canvas, and our options for what paints, for what tools, what materials, for the where, when, why of any given creative manifestation, -well, the options for a mixed media artist are the greatest of them all
and as i watching the modern dancers perform, this seems quite the same to me
the show opened with a tap dancer, and you know i LOVE our tap dancers..
-wait; 'show' is the not the correct word
the senior finals on stage, opened with..
and the senior finals on stage, included a group jazz-ish performance
but the greatest majority of dances; modern dances back to back to back
and speaking of! some of the ways we could witness the human back, arms, shoulder blades move to music..
and there are just ways modern dancers get to use, literally, every part of their body to express..
every limb, every finger, the spectrum of gesture, the poetry of movement, with such a variety of cadences, -and they use their facial expressions, and they just move in ways, new ways, fresh ways, -in all ways, -every way..
so, where as i love dance, and i have affinity toward all dancers in general
i wonder if modern dancers feel like the luckiest ones? they not only use their bodies in the widest range of possibilities, but they can add in props -incorporate objects into the expression; into the choreography itself
its just so limitless.. and i would love to see modern fused more with every other type of dance existing. it is the natural evolution to borrow from here, mix it there, a small sample of this, a large dose of that.. but always incorporating; -discovering the shades and hues of purple from reds and blues
and because us mrs. of the group, each with a dancing background of one kind or another, well, none of us are in our 20's, -know what i mean,
so, we look with such admiration at all a young, healthy, dancing body can do
and we are all so glad you are not wasting this athleticism, but you are wisely, creatively, remarkably dancing your hearts out; leaving it on the stage;
but let me use that as a segue.. because, my hope and prayer, and my big birthday wish for the world, is that 'the stage' itself will continue to grow and expand
parking lots can be your stage..
green belts..
farmers markets..
the landscaped areas in business districts.. inside a mall, or department store; up and down staircases..
-this is why flash mobs are so exciting -they surprise! they delight!
you did not pay for a ticket, a seat, and watch a dancer perform on a stage
dance just suddenly shows up where you are and makes the whole world a better place to live.
share your gift liberally dancers!
lastly, i made a conscious effort not to identify 'favorites' when watching these performances, but darn it, if it doesnt seem to happen every time anyway
and i spotted my favorites, my personal favorites, last night
and without saying what song, what dance(s), what performances specifically,
-and especially because i did not personally know even one of the students in this senior portfolio, so, i am without any bias created through relationship, friendship, etc.
exactly because i had no attachment to anything, except my own truth,
i can tell you, my favorites, are the ones who i can tell are lost in their own performance -they are not thinking about what they are doing; they are not self-conscious in any way, they don't have to think, they just have done the number so many times, they can perform it all instinct; all joy
and then mix that joy with a little fire, and a lot of confidence
-it's very exciting to witness this magical combination "thank you!"
*****
so, more dancing in general, by everyday people, in public parks.. this will yield greater health and happiness and strengthen community; more flash mobs; this will yield greater health and happiness and make the world a better place to live; more fusion of dance styles; this creativity will yield greater health and happiness; make the world a better place, and keep us interested and engaged..
speaking of! what choreographer will make my dreams come true?
-well, i have seen one of my dreams come true, and it is just as awesome as i thought it would be! and that is, a dance floor, filled with dancers, but each one is listening to their own favorite dance music with ear phones; so, to the witness/spectator, it is entirely quiet, but with a great variety of dance styles, each at a different rythm/ryme/pace; style, etc. fun! to watch
the dream i havent seen come true YET is this: -currently we are conditioned through years, years and years of dance to see a specfic costume, cultural dress, and then project immediately what dance we will see next.. Irish Dancer (in your imagination, you can see the costume.. you know the fundamental moves; Ballet -same, African.. Latin.. on and on.. etc. and! we know, through conditioning, what music goes with what costume goes with what dance moves..
mix this up! Irish dance moves, to African music, in a ballet costume.. then reverse.. on and on, and have some fun
new magical moves and choreography will come from it..
*****
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and there's more of course...
hallelujah & amen
posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 10:37 AM
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