Meandering Thoughts about Art and Culture

W
ho says that modern dance is esoteric?


Modern dancers have been bringing dance to the masses for years, dancing in spaces not designated exclusively as performance spaces-- dancing on streets, in parks, and in public buildings. And yet, despite artists attempts at popularizing dance as art, I find that many people still have very little concept of what modern dance is.

Perhaps one of the reasons the public finds modern dance puzzling is because it is an abstract art form. Unlike many classical ballets or musical theatre pieces, there is often no clear story. Modern dance is more like visual poetry-- images emerge and disappear and don't necessarily follow a "logical" progression. I find that people who don't worry about "getting it" enjoy modern dance. They allow themselves to see the movement and make an interpretation instead of imposing a preconceived idea over the dance.

I don't think that the inability to see what is in front of us is a phenomenon that only happens in the arts. The debate in the US about the teaching of evolution and the movement to teach "intelligent design" strikes me as part of the same issue. Why are we as a country shifting towards ideas that must be taken on faith rather than towards ideas that are derived from observation? I think the short answer is that after 9/11 and with the disturbing news of escalating violence in the world, we are reaching towards ideas that are impenetrable; they seem comforting because they are unquestionable and unchanging. The also absolve us of seeing and creating our own ideas.

I find this trend towards non-thinking disturbing. As a self-described artist, I prize imagination, but imagination that addresses the world as it might be, not imagination that insists it literally exists. I hope to see more imagination that acknowledges the world as it is and envisions the world as it may become, and I hope that we may move towards a culture that is willing to see, wonder, think, and imagine a better future world.


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filed under : art culture education

photograph by Kenneth Balint