Dance

This is not a dance. The dancers are not able to move their bodies freely because they are suspended by harnesses and wires from the ceiling. A dance should be an expression of a combination of the human mind, spirit and emotion. Brown’s “dance” cannot be an expression of these things, but it is rather an artistic experiment of some sort. The artistic experiment results in moving shadows that are formed by the dancers’ bodies, and displays the dancers’ abilities to balance themselves as they defy gravity. Each dancer creates different shadows due to the difference in their body types. Some shadows are large and bulky, while others are lean and fragile. All dancers, however, move with grace and agility. Their black bodies contrasted against the pure, while backdrop helps the viewer see the shadows more clearly as well. Some dancers look like they are walking in a field of freshly fallen snow. The sweeping movements of their legs make it seem as if they are slowly ice skating on a frozen pond. If I had created this dance, I would have titled it, “Winter Solstice.” The dancers are hanging, hanging and hanging. They look like lifeless puppets simply hanging, and limp. The black and white recording also adds to the mundane and lifeless feelings of this “dance.”

The man walking down the wall is also not a dance. It is interesting to see a person actually walk down a side of a building. It is visually striking and a wonder. It is a very Jesus-walking-on-the-water moment. The man appears to be a giant creature from outer space that has come to dominate our world. The people below look like they are in awe and utter disbelief that this is happening right before their eyes.

If these two so-called dances are really considered to be dances, I can see why the artist might have chosen to choreograph her dances in this simplistic and emotionless way. It may have been the artist’s purpose to create a dance that is so simplistic so that it may evoke a wave of creativity for the viewer. If you cut out all the extra detail and fanciness in art, you are left with the basic elements. I supposed these pieces bring on a sense of creativity for me and help me to think outside of the box. The artist’s dances give me the basic elements to work with- black, white, classical ballet- and also help me to think creatively about what I could do to add my own individuality to the dances. The artist’s purpose could also have been to show the strength and beauty of the human body by having the movement of the human body be the sole focus of the artwork.