Figure 1: Contemporary Dance
Coming into this course, I am the type of performer that enjoys expressing
themselves through movement. As a dancer it comes naturally and easier than anything
else. Dancing is a way to speak without using words. The words themselves come from
the movements being executed along with the emotion one puts with them.
Dancing is very similar to acting in the sense that they both tell stories and have
the ability to be very moving. This performance technique takes a number of skills
similar to acting and several skills that are unfamiliar to the typical actor. Dancers have to
be flexible, physically fit, have phenomenal balance control etc. as well as have the
ability to convey emotion similar to an actor. Different shapes can express different
emotions. For example, if a dancer were to use ground movements, one may get the
impression that the person in the story is sad, conflicted, restricted, week, helpless etc.
One of the key elements that make a dancer’s movements make sense is the music
that accompanies the routine itself. If the routine is choreographed to a happy song,
including floor work, the dancer obviously wouldn’t be week/helpless. The routine is
choreographed to the music, not the other way around.
As a person involved with the arts, I am very emotional and expressive with what
I do, specifically in dance. I often express my emotions through dance and take all of
what I’m feeling at that moment, and apply it to a routine. I find that this makes my
emotions productive as apposed to crying or screaming at everyone. Dancing has been
able to draw me to tears at times simply because conveying an emotion that’s personal to
me as an individual, through a routine, can be very overwhelming.
During the summer I injured myself quite seriously and was unable to dance for
two months. This being the first time experiencing something like this, it was an
emotional roller coaster dealing with living without my escape. Even when I couldn’t
move I was still choreographing in my head and watching routines on youtube (and of
course crying all the time, knowing that for the time being I wouldn’t be able to do any of
it). It is unusual to live without something that you have learned to live with most of your
life, so much so that it has become second nature to you in the sense that you do it sub
consciously in a casual setting. In a way it’s like losing someone close to you, whether it
is a death that separates you or a break up with a long term boyfriend. It’s hard to cope
knowing that you have lost part of what made you, you (even if it is just temporary).
Thankfully, the injury was temporary and I am almost complete with the recovery
process. It is a relief to know that I am able to dance again without any restrictions.
Word Count: 519
Works Cited
Contemporary Dance. 12 Apr. 2011. Facebook. Lloyd Whitmore, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2011. <http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1966430442801&set=a.1063359546593.10422.1304113230&type=1&theater>.
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