On Where Tessa Thinks Dance Is, & On Where She Thinks It's Going
First, I just want to say that humans like dance. Humans have always done dance. In the 21st century, dance is huge in our United States culture. It's all over the television, social media, and Internet. It's in our schools, in our theaters, in our churches; it's really everywhere. People move and love to move, and people love to see movement.
However, when people see modern dance you really get two, maybe three, kinds of reactions I think: 1) people are fond of seeing it because it shows emotion and feeling (moreso than ballet, perhaps) 2) people love it because it's so different 3) people don't understand it and therefore feel some measure of discomfort with it, or alienated from it.
For me, #3 is my biggest interest, because I already fit in the category of #1 & #2. And #3 is perhaps of great interest for a lot of choreographers. If you examine the mission statements on dance websites, you see it repeated over and over how dancers/choreographers & institutions long to reach more and more people with dance as an art form.
So where is dance, currently, in U.S. culture (and throughout the world), where does it stand? It seems to be thriving right now in a BIG way. That's my impression, that dance in all genres is doing quite well (namely because of mass media and social media). And because of this dance explosion, I think modern dance (contemporary dance, interpretive dance) is gaining acceptance. The culture is becoming more aware of it. And by seeing it more, it helps them to become more at ease with contemporary choreography.
That said, there's room to grow regarding dance education in all dance genres, but I speak of modern dance in particular because that's where my training comes from. To elaborate, if a newcomer were to go to a modern dance performance, or even if a modern dancer himself was going, it can be VERY difficult for one to understand what is going on on the stage. Thus, even though contemporary dance has more visibility that ever, in an actual performance, audience members may still feel quite lost, disconnected . . . and thus alienated from the work being presented.
So while dance is presently visible in our culture, and popular, the understanding of modern/contemporary dance is perhaps yet deeply lacking, and has been for years, simply because as choreographers/teachers/educators we have not sought to identify why &/or how we are doing what we're doing and to then pass that knowledge on to the viewer, the audience member. As a result, so much of our movement can look so foreign, strange, meaningless, and pointless to the lay person (I think all modern dancers have heard & seen the jokes concerning modern dance; I know I have). Now of course, this is only one hypothesis of why there is a disconnect for the audience when viewing modern dance. Another hypothesis is: for so long we have shied away from telling the audience our meaning or our how, thinking it is only legit to never express what we mean (for afterall, "art is subjective;" "the audience member makes the meaning"). But there can be very little meaning for the viewer if the viewer is totally clueless about what is going on on the stage.
Now some choreographers may be fine with this. It may be their goal to not strongly connect with the audience, or rather to leave the audience feeling perplexed. If that's the goal, and they know what they're up to, great. I'm glad there is intention going on behind the artwork (and let's be honest, many choreographers DO entertain A LOT of thought behind their work--they thoroughly think about it and are intentional about it). But for me personally, I yearn to deeply connect with my audience. Dance is a language. I want to communicate effectively. I want to know why I'm doing what I'm doing, and I want to plainly, yet artistically, communicate that as best as I can with the viewer. And it is then that I believe a beautiful exchange can happen: the dancer creates and the audience grasps.
So to sum things up, dance is currently very popular in our culture; modern/contemporary dance has more exposure than ever. With more exposure, there's more acceptance. Yet, I personally have the inclination that we have a ways to go towards allowing the audience to feel more connected with contemporary choreography (if that's our goal).
Where is Dance Going
Many highlight how COOL stuff is going on over in Europe (I notice that Europe tends towards circus arts, festivals in the outdoors, storytelling, incredibly interesting sets, yet some of the companies have a very "American" feel to them as well). But cool stuff regarding dance is going on all over the world really. Examining the creativity, originality, talent, & passion behind so many individuals and companies is amazing. But I will highlight this, I notice how narrative is beginning to play a key role in dance. Ballet has always been very narrative based. Ballet has always possessed meaning and order (as limited or as narrow as it may have seemed). Though modern dance was a rebellion to ballet in a lot of ways (and in time, all narrative that was easily grasped was perhaps largely thrown out), relatable narratives seem to be gaining momentum in this genre. Many people are interested in creating dance with meaning, with a story. In addition to the use of technology and unique technical designs (these things are really big in the U.S. & Europe and are incredible, btw, our use of technology & fascinating sets), it will be interesting to see how stories keep finding their way into dance creations. I think this is why dance theater is so big in the U.S. currently, because we're looking for ways to communicate more fully.
P.S. But even with looking for more ways to communicate fully, I sure hope we can remain quite diverse--not ALL looking the same.
I hope that we can keep being creative. For example, while I am an advocate for story dance/movement storytelling, I also deeply love dance improvisation and love to give the audience a glimpse of something that perhaps doesn't posses utter clarity.
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However, when people see modern dance you really get two, maybe three, kinds of reactions I think: 1) people are fond of seeing it because it shows emotion and feeling (moreso than ballet, perhaps) 2) people love it because it's so different 3) people don't understand it and therefore feel some measure of discomfort with it, or alienated from it.
For me, #3 is my biggest interest, because I already fit in the category of #1 & #2. And #3 is perhaps of great interest for a lot of choreographers. If you examine the mission statements on dance websites, you see it repeated over and over how dancers/choreographers & institutions long to reach more and more people with dance as an art form.
So where is dance, currently, in U.S. culture (and throughout the world), where does it stand? It seems to be thriving right now in a BIG way. That's my impression, that dance in all genres is doing quite well (namely because of mass media and social media). And because of this dance explosion, I think modern dance (contemporary dance, interpretive dance) is gaining acceptance. The culture is becoming more aware of it. And by seeing it more, it helps them to become more at ease with contemporary choreography.
That said, there's room to grow regarding dance education in all dance genres, but I speak of modern dance in particular because that's where my training comes from. To elaborate, if a newcomer were to go to a modern dance performance, or even if a modern dancer himself was going, it can be VERY difficult for one to understand what is going on on the stage. Thus, even though contemporary dance has more visibility that ever, in an actual performance, audience members may still feel quite lost, disconnected . . . and thus alienated from the work being presented.
So while dance is presently visible in our culture, and popular, the understanding of modern/contemporary dance is perhaps yet deeply lacking, and has been for years, simply because as choreographers/teachers/educators we have not sought to identify why &/or how we are doing what we're doing and to then pass that knowledge on to the viewer, the audience member. As a result, so much of our movement can look so foreign, strange, meaningless, and pointless to the lay person (I think all modern dancers have heard & seen the jokes concerning modern dance; I know I have). Now of course, this is only one hypothesis of why there is a disconnect for the audience when viewing modern dance. Another hypothesis is: for so long we have shied away from telling the audience our meaning or our how, thinking it is only legit to never express what we mean (for afterall, "art is subjective;" "the audience member makes the meaning"). But there can be very little meaning for the viewer if the viewer is totally clueless about what is going on on the stage.
Now some choreographers may be fine with this. It may be their goal to not strongly connect with the audience, or rather to leave the audience feeling perplexed. If that's the goal, and they know what they're up to, great. I'm glad there is intention going on behind the artwork (and let's be honest, many choreographers DO entertain A LOT of thought behind their work--they thoroughly think about it and are intentional about it). But for me personally, I yearn to deeply connect with my audience. Dance is a language. I want to communicate effectively. I want to know why I'm doing what I'm doing, and I want to plainly, yet artistically, communicate that as best as I can with the viewer. And it is then that I believe a beautiful exchange can happen: the dancer creates and the audience grasps.
So to sum things up, dance is currently very popular in our culture; modern/contemporary dance has more exposure than ever. With more exposure, there's more acceptance. Yet, I personally have the inclination that we have a ways to go towards allowing the audience to feel more connected with contemporary choreography (if that's our goal).
Where is Dance Going
Many highlight how COOL stuff is going on over in Europe (I notice that Europe tends towards circus arts, festivals in the outdoors, storytelling, incredibly interesting sets, yet some of the companies have a very "American" feel to them as well). But cool stuff regarding dance is going on all over the world really. Examining the creativity, originality, talent, & passion behind so many individuals and companies is amazing. But I will highlight this, I notice how narrative is beginning to play a key role in dance. Ballet has always been very narrative based. Ballet has always possessed meaning and order (as limited or as narrow as it may have seemed). Though modern dance was a rebellion to ballet in a lot of ways (and in time, all narrative that was easily grasped was perhaps largely thrown out), relatable narratives seem to be gaining momentum in this genre. Many people are interested in creating dance with meaning, with a story. In addition to the use of technology and unique technical designs (these things are really big in the U.S. & Europe and are incredible, btw, our use of technology & fascinating sets), it will be interesting to see how stories keep finding their way into dance creations. I think this is why dance theater is so big in the U.S. currently, because we're looking for ways to communicate more fully.
P.S. But even with looking for more ways to communicate fully, I sure hope we can remain quite diverse--not ALL looking the same.
I hope that we can keep being creative. For example, while I am an advocate for story dance/movement storytelling, I also deeply love dance improvisation and love to give the audience a glimpse of something that perhaps doesn't posses utter clarity.
Back