DCDanceBlog

still thinking about what authenticity is. definitely fascinated by the idea–it’s a large part of what moves me to try to create art, to try to be true to whatever it is that i uniquely have to say.

here’s a comment on the last post on authenticity, made by ken manheimer:

as i see it, “authenticity” is a clue, a lead.

given the opportunity to move however we would most like, most people are overwhelmed by the openness of the offer. it takes some doing - experience and/or an unspoiled sense of wonder - to track down and bring out what really grabs us in the moment. (it’s the same for any artist - think of the poet who is able to speak with/of urgency, conviction, depth, gravity, levity…)

the dancer’s commitment is to get acquainted with the terrain - their terrain - of exciting movement, and bring back the juicy stuff. authenticity is a personal compass by which any artist navigates this kind of terrain, and the quality by which others recognize the trueness of their search.

a couple of other people had this back and forth:

by following your inner voice, your inner heart, your inner guide

and if that inner voice is copied and false, then what?

ok, so what do i think now? i think i think that our inner voice, our innermost voice, is by definition genuine or authentic, unique. the task therefore is to figure out how to get there, how to peel off the accumulated layers that aren’t true to us, that we’ve amassed through too much contact w/ others or conformity or fear, or all of the above.

but am i actually saying anything new?

while helping out with the play, drama under the influence, that lotta mentioned below (which, dag, i still haven’t seen!–having just gotten back from argentina a few days ago), we marvelled at the differences between the dance and theater worlds. a few things we noted: how much more professional theater productions seem to be, with a MUCH larger staff of folks helping out (dramaturgs et al), more formalized rehearsals, and much more standardized guidelines for things like how cast/crew bios should be written. They also tend to have a much more intensive rehearsal schedule, meeting every day for maybe 5-6 weeks before the play goes up. i’m not sure why dance is different…

one funny thing that working with actors made us both realize is that, though it was a great experience, we actually love the abstractness of dance–although it can drive us both nuts at times. there’s just something lovely and so freeing about having all that space and the permission to move way away from the literal and concrete–which is generally not the case with theater. though there’s a lot of theater in dc, i’m not sure how much of it is experimental and does allow for that freedom.

it’s a bit of a drag that there’s so little mixing between the dance and theater worlds. lotta and i were impressed with the actors’ abilities to let go of their inhibitions and really move. i’m not sure, though, if dancers would be quite as at ease with putting on various emotions and personalities, which i find to be a definite bummer. wouldn’t it be amazing to have dancers who can personify different moods or styles in their faces as well as their bodies? i’ve felt this for a long time.

but all of this is a long long introduction to what is apparently THE dc theater blog, theaterboy. it’s written by one of the city paper’s (sorry, got it wrong earlier) lead theater critics and is apparently sort of the community hub, as far as dc theater goes. very cool–and a nice example for what this blog could become, if i do say so myself! just a thought…