dirac Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 From 1987: Quote The relation of dancer to choreographer is not just that of executant or performer to auteur – which, however creative, however inspired the performer, is still a subservient relation. Though a performer in this sense, too, the dancer is also more than a performer. There is a mystery of incarnation in dance that has no analogue in the other performing arts. Quote In my experience, no species of performing artist is as self-critical as a dancer. I have gone backstage many times to congratulate a friend or acquaintance who is an actor or a pianist or a singer on his or her superlative performance; invariably my praise is received without much demurral, with evident pleasure (my purpose, of course, is to give pleasure), and sometimes with relief. But each time I’ve congratulated a friend or acquaintance who is a dancer on a superb performance – and I include Baryshnikov – I’ve heard first a disconsolate litany of mistakes that were made: a beat was missed, a foot not pointed in the right way, there was a near-slippage in some intricate partnering manoeuvre. Never mind that perhaps not only I but everyone else failed to observe these mistakes. They were made. The dancer knew. Therefore the performance was not really good. Not good enough. Link to comment
Olga Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Great essay. Not so much about Barishnikov, but more generally about dancers. Thanks. Link to comment
Drew Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Thank you for posting.... Link to comment
vipa Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Thank you for posting dirac. Worth reading several times and thinking about. Link to comment
sandik Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 First read this in grad school, and then a couple more times, but hadn't looked at it recently -- many thanks for the nudge. "Against Interpretation" was another big one for me. Link to comment
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