DCDanceBlog

i just came across this post about how experimental artists treat their audiences. it’s by anna brady nuse; she’s an nyc dancer who now seems to work mostly in film.

it’s a great post, and here’s a later one she wrote that’s a bit tempered. i esp like this part:

Despite the many exceptions in the dance community, I do think that there is something about experimental art scenes that foster a kind of elitism and snobbery. My personal definition of an experimental art scene is a group of artists who live on the outer edges of society and share similar aesthetic and creative ideas that mainly revolve around critiquing and counterbalancing mainstream culture. One aspect of mainstream culture is the “mass audience.” As part of the experimental dance scene in New York I used to feel that to cater to any audience beyond our scene would be seen as a sign of selling out or dumbing down the work. In any case, the work’s status as “experimental” would be put into question.

i think it’s a great point and one that feels familiar to me.

frankly, the idea of dismissing anyone, but especially the people you’re ostensibly trying to communicate with, strikes me as very ugly.

in a way, i think that how artists treat their audience can be symbolic of how they see people, strangers, in general. that hostile sense might come from their own bad experiences, or a lifetime of feeling like an outsider, being misunderstood.

watching a friend, tony, perform in the improv fest this year, i was moved by how open and loving he seemed towards the strangers surrounding him. he approached them with acceptance, and they felt it–that was quite apparent to me. i’m sure his performance would have been far less successful if that wasn’t a key element of his personality (as i know it is).