It might be my unashamedly bodily bias, but I’ve always been struck and drawn towards the physical arts, rather than those on masonite or marble. Fresh off an art-high from seeing Martin Creed’s ‘Ballet Work No. 1020’ I’ve been thinking about the great works of choreography and dance in history.
Has dance, like other forms of art, gathered up and opened us up to new ways of thinking and experiencing? Did Ninjinsky’s choreography draw out those primal emotions stoked by Stravinsky at the premiere of Le sacre du printemps? Did Elvis’ shaking hips shake common conception about male sexuality? What about b-boys, breakdancers, and other modern dancers and dances – what do they show or tell us?
Dance is, I’m convinced, a large and interesting problematic I’ve barely just begun to consider.
In a bit of personal reflection, I can narrow down the rekindling of my interest in dance to this video from Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. I was shocked the first time I saw it. I’d never seen anything like it before. I’ve since been drawn to Crystal’s works, their narrative structure, their organicism, and their Butoh inflections. They have definitely made me pay more attention to how I move and think about movement.
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