DCDanceBlog

a question about smiling. or about expressions, really.

it’s funny how modern dancers are always so serious. if a specific facial expression isn’t written into a piece, we generally try to have no expression–which quickly turns into a face of stone. sometimes it’s a specific “performance” face, with eyes that look only at air; sometimes it’s just a lack of expression that hardens.

sorry to sound harsh. i don’t mean to be. i do it too.

smiling is a whole other thing. if it’s written in specifically, it can often wind up looking fake–unless the piece really supports a spontaneous act of happiness. and yet it’s funny to smile so rarely, since for many (most?) of us, dancing is ultimately about joy, the joy of movement. and audiences like to see happy, genuinely happy, people onstage. but i know it’s also true that a smile gives a piece a tone, a personality that might not align with the overall thrust of the piece.

what about an open face, one where the eyes do see something and the face is relaxed and available, if not smiling? i like that. but someone recently pointed out that dancers are most comfortable working from the neck down (unlike actors, who are the opposite, this person said), so dealing w/ the head and its expressions while also moving is perhaps a challenge. but we have more options; we should use them.