In this session, we continued to discuss the relationship between form and content, and how we can combine them into a complete audience experience.
We discussed the various types of text that a dancer might encounter :
Types of Text
a. Narrative b. Emotive c. Soliloquy (a + b + a decision is reached in the process) d. Descriptive e. Abstract |
We identified Maybe Not Me as a soliloquy – which drew our attention to the character driving it.
Dancing the Character
In analyzing a soliloquy like Maybe Not Me, understanding the character of the “I” was vital – his history, his worldview, his temperament. The more we analyzed the lines, the more clues we collected about him. His vanity, his libido, his sense of love as duty – these things were at odds with his innate sense of dignity and guilt. The whole poem can be seen as a tug of war between judging himself a whore VS accepting his duty to give and receive love –in the end, his vanity as a lover tips the scales. It became clear that dancing the meaning of this poem necessitates dancing the character speaking.
Inspiration from Danzteater
We discussed danzteater performances that we have seen, and admired the way those dancers functioned like actors as well – conveying character and narrative through the medium of dance. Perhaps this can inspire the moving text fusion. After all, most texts contain a persona – even if it is the writer’s self. Can character be a useful starting point for the dancer to respond to the text?
Jon also introduced the difference between text and subtext, and the importance of text analysis in unlocking the latter.
Dancing the Text VS Dancing the SubText
While the audience may follow the text being performed, subtext is harder to discern in real time unless the listener is experienced with literature. More profound texts and complex language may obscure the subtext even more
Perhaps one great advantage of moving text is to allow the subtext to be expressed through the dancer, offering the audience a greater access to the meaning of the work.
Reminder of Dance’s Purpose :
The more dancers train, the more they dwell on form. But is that the sole purpose of dance? Spectacle only? To entertain, to be aesthetically pleasing? Like other art forms, does dance not also have the power and responsibility to communicate, inspire and illuminate?
Manny established dance companies have evolved their own rationale and strategies for communicating with their audience, making their work rich in meaning. How can we help developing dancers to also begin thinking along such lines?
Perhaps the challenges of engaging with text can awaken this passion and sharpen their tools.
After analysis, Aiden danced the poem again.
The feedback given by Sze Min and Jon triggered further exploration of the poem. Soe areas explored :
Does the center alignment of the poem mean something?
It stresses symmetry and draws attention to the shape, the ‘body’ of the text
Can it suggest that the persona’s thoughts are suspended, compared to the rational spine offered by side alignment?
To Aiden, “like a body underwater” is a powerful trigger – evoking very danceable images. However, the key to interpreting that phrase lies in the words/phrases around it – the connective tissue. From “blood rushes strangely” and “I do not know this tune” to “unclear” and “made of other stuff”, we get the sense that it is not about drowning or floating – both tempting dance options – but about being unrecognizable, muffled or blurred.
After analyzing the poem through close reading, how has Aiden’s approach to dancing the poem changed?
Instead of the body responding to the text, the body now attempts to convey the text
Instead of being pressured to create movement to occupy time and accompany the text, he can be strategic in choosing the most apt moments to express
Instead of necessarily dancing the meaning of the words, the body can dance the meanings unspoken – the subtext
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