Overcoming Gravity

Gravity pulls me down. Under no control of my own I am forced upon this earth by this cosmic power. Gravity is force. Gravity is aggressive. Gravity is power, but dance defies gravity.

When we dance we defy gravity. Our bodies can manipulate how we exist within the limits of gravity. Dance fights gravity’s aggressive power. Dance is David. Dance fights the colossal giant, but not with force or strength. Dance uses beauty, grace, and determination to lift the limits of gravity- even if only for a moment. But within that moment we succeeded.

Dancers all around the world are rising up against this all encompassing giant. In New York a man slowly descends down a large building with grace and ease. As he walks on the façade of the building he moves down floor after floor each step spitting in the face of gravity. As he walks he wonders how something so extraordinary could be so ordinary in its own contradictory extraordinarily way. He knows that he is fighting gravity, but he didn’t realize how mundane the fight could be. However, in order to create some excitement he thinks that cartwheels might be a good idea.

As he descends with the power of dance people stand breathless at the bottom of the building; Danced triumphed. Gravity wanted nothing more then for him to come crashing down to a violent end as so many have done before. With the aid of a single rope, dancers all around the world can: descend down buildings, walk down walls, feel the breeze flowing up at them, and become weightless. Even with the restriction of the harness, the dancers know they have the power to overcome this Goliath.

It’s not just on the facades of building that dancers can battle gravity. Dancers are able to conquer gravity in seemingly innocent galleries. Empty; Cold; White; Sterile; the gallery acts as an unexpected battleground between dance and gravity. The dancers all stride gracefully with their bodies perpendicular to the wall. With full confidence the dancers attempt to beat gravity. However, gravity is no fool. Gravity knows that the entanglements between the interstices of the ropes will crate a problem for the dancers. As this happens the dancers start to fight back. They use their flexible bodies to overcome the mess and start to unwind the knots gravity gave them. At last they are free- that battle was won. But the war is ongoing. We need to fight daily against this war of weight. We encounter it every day and have learned to live with it, but we no longer shall sit idly by and let gravity rule our lives. We must join together and dance. Dance is what will win the war.