Calliope Posted May 29, 2002 Share Posted May 29, 2002 We've often had discussions on dancers that are sometimes "too young" to understand/grasp roles they're dancing. That sometimes they may be given things too quickly. What about choreographers? Are there "vintage" (wine not vinegar) years? Does someone need to dance/choreograph a certain number of years first? Link to comment
dirac Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 I'm not sure if any generalizations can be safely made here. If the examples of Balanchine and Ashton are anything to go by, it might seem as if the peak decades are those between roughly thirty- five and fifty- five, or somewhere in that ballpark. (Not that they didn't do great work thereafter, but you could argue that their most characteristic and innovative work was done by that point.) Ashton developed more slowly than Balanchine, but as Mr. A would have pointed out, he came late to the party and didn't have Mr. B's grounding in music, dance, and tradition from an early age, so it was more difficult for him. Link to comment
Leigh Witchel Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 If it's any use to use one's self as an example, I saw a difference in what I was doing after about 12 years of work. It was less in craft than in confidence of voice. I felt by that point that, whether someone liked my work or didn't care for it aside, it looked like my work. I hope I see another difference (and even improvement!) again as time goes on! Link to comment
Morris Neighbor Posted June 1, 2002 Share Posted June 1, 2002 With dancers, age has obvious significance, since time takes a physical toll. With choreographers, it's different, since many influnces shape their work. With Balanchine, for instance, there is an obvious, even embarrassing (PAMTGG!), drought after Farrell left his company. But he recovered, even before his muse returned, with the Stravinsky Festival. Paul Taylor hit a similar dry spell when the AIDS epidemic decimated his company. The loss of Christopher Gillis, whom he saw as his successor, was particularly difficult. (All this from the film Dancemaker, by the way.) He also regained his creativity, though it's worth noting that he began using explicitly gay themes in his work: the "I Can Dream, Can't I?" section of Company B, for one example, and Piazzola Caldera for another. In short, "problems" for choreographers are more likely to derive from external emotional problems than the simple process of aging. Link to comment
Nanatchka Posted June 2, 2002 Share Posted June 2, 2002 Since the tango is traditionally danced in Argentina by two men, it does not seem to me to be a "gay" theme in Piazzola Caldera (not that there would be anything wrong with that.) It seems more like a macho theme. Link to comment
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