Re: Substance
08 Юли 2009 г. 16:11
Isn't what you are describing as substance already called an evolution ?
Those you mentioned and also those you did not, certainly hit many dead ends....but in doing so they were not alone... while seeking the way "out" , whilst digging deeper and deeper into a hole/ just to meet another dead end, they were followed and they thought their many admirers / followers, who paid dearly for just hitting the dead end.
What do we mean by a dead end ? The areas where if you stay you do not progress, you perish misunderstood, unappreciated, considered a failure of evolution ? That does not mean you were not good or did not deserve recognition. Dinosaurs were extremely successful species, far more successful than human beings, but we are here, regarded as the tops of the evolutionary tree, the most successful ? We, the weak, hairless, screwing the nature and environment around us, some of us finding the meaning of life in making the most radical 123 Natural Turns, in supper uncomfortable dance shoes, wearing tons of mascara, with a hip and back hurting from the unnatural tortion, all in the name of the perceived elegance ?
"Real success !," says the blonde..
"Without them we are dead meat ?"
Geronimo, you appear emotional and rather irrational. No, we are not dead meat.
First not all play tennis, not all dance, and while many do grab their crotch they cannot moon- walk.
Many, if not majority of dance teachers have so much knowledge, talent and love for dance and they have so much to offer to anyone who wants to learn to move to music that their students/ followers can pick up and learn so much about dance. There are also so many types of dance, and I have no idea how Richard Gleave break dances, or Brian Watson does in ballet - probably well, but his back hand in tennis sucks, I hear.
Evolution cannot be forced, there are many nature's unsuccessful experiments which looked very promising but another species came about and either ate the "experiment" , or bacteria , virus, a disaster came about and finished the job.
I'd like to agree with you, and try hard to see your probably emotionally driven point, but can only suggest that it is the people in charge of judging dance who determine what is acceptable, what is preferred, what is rewarded . They the people who will determine what the dancers who wish to be rewarded will be trying to learn, mimic, duplicate, what they will force their dance teachers to teach them, no matter how horrible, repulsive, vulgar, inappropriate , unacceptable it may appear to you, your friends, relatives, even to those you hold in such a high esteem. You see, if you do not show judges what they want, what they like they will not mark you and you will never reach the status of those you mentioned, and as such, even though probably very good and appreciated by your love ones, you will be not noticed.
It comes as no surprise that it is only those who follow the existing accepted principles set by "dead meats" who may one day reach the top, become known, noticed, regarded as "the best" who may "invent"/ try influence their field of "expertise" and introduce something new , radical - it may be a quadruple jump in figure skating, with one hand on the crotch - something no ice dancer has done in a competition - but do not listen to me, it will take a top notch figure skater, who has become tom notch by listening, and paying attention to your "dead meat" , for if he/ she grabbed his/her crotch earlier he/ she would have been told off, expelled for public vulgarity, and never rewarded or shown on TV.
Is this not the reason why we see the costumes ( or their lack of ) on the dance floors , the horrible mascaras, dancers running around like a herd of panicked animals - now referred to as sport dancing, and something desirable ?
I have no idea where our dancesport is heading, but as long as dance remains art, as long as interpretation of music, feeling is referred to as dancing, and as long as the feeling is a very personal creations of our own, never identical to anyone else's, never felt the same, just as every snow flake is different ( so they say ), so we all have some of what you call the "substance" - unless of course we are 'dead meat'.
I am not an advocate to learning something from those we do not like for what they say. Sure you can listen, but if you do not agree with the message, if you do not enjoy it, why waste time ? Life is already so short, there is not enough time to learn from those whose message we like, enjoy....value.
In short, the subject of substance is rather philosophical, and the example of dead meat is driven by some strange emotions or temporary feeling of some guilt which I do not get.
Believe me, dancers will try embrace changes and will try to imitate what is being rewarded. If they get rewarded for wearing a tu-tu, or making high leaps into air, wearing weird attire, you can bet that this what you will see on the dance floor. Those who promote the change will be proclaimed the leaders in the industry, just as M.J. grabbing his crotch has become something of a leading substance - iconic, appreciated, rewarded, advertised, copied ....
RIP Michael.
What many greats ask dancers and dance teachers to do is to stay true to the principals of dance, and not to depart from these principals.
I believe this is on account of lacking standards, or inability to standardize dance , so that dance quality could be measured in a precise, comprehensive and fair way. Adjudicating Dancesport is already very subjective. If there were many new departures from the accepted "core", judging dancesport would become even more of a challenge than it is today.
To answer your questions:
The dancesport legends you mentioned all agreed that dance teachers are responsible for the future of dance, and where dance may go.... it was Donny Burns who preached against the introduction of vulgarity and ugliness in dancesport and warns against it, it was Anthony Hurley who stressed the importance of adhering to the established core and principals.
All the rest, the costumes, the special effects, even the use of inappropriate modern music, that's all a passing fancy, a fad.
But if we stick with the substance, the core of the dance established by the recognized few....do we not reject/fight the normal evolution.... isn't the evolution brought about by the experiments, which often takes us away from the core ?
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