Dance: the beautiful art
It is natural to want to dance and move every time we listen to music. With the drumming of a military march, we want to march back in time; the gentle circles of a waltz have the power to make us feel as if we are spinning forever; and a lullaby makes us numb our bodies. Dance is a natural expression and is a natural response to music that is heard externally or sometimes but rarely is in resonance with the sounds of inner joy, of which only the individual is aware.
Most people want to dance or enjoy dancing. It is a characteristic in the lives of most people around the world that they reveal the differences in their culture through the different types of music and the different styles of dance movement that they develop in their traditional art. There is a difference between dancing a country barn dance or a western formation with a country band and rap dancing with the intonation and accompanying sounds; between the metallic rhythm of tap dancers with a popular melody and ballet dancers with soft, pointed feet describing the patterns of a classical piece; the passionate guitar and strong heels of a Spanish flamenco and the gentle swirls of an Austrian circular waltz to the sound of a violin.
Music provides the powerful influence that we seek to express in movement and dance. Also, if our own emotions move, we can convey how we feel by injecting our emotions into our physical movements. If the music encourages us, we can dance, but we wish we could fly and the best we can do is raise our arms and lift our bodies off the ground as best we can. If the music, on the other hand, is dark, we would prefer to dress in gray garments and lower our heads to respond with heavy and deliberate movements to show what the music intends.
For the professional dancer, it is the music that dictates the mood and demands that the dancer surrender his body to that music, not just for his own pleasure, but for a wider purpose. Then the dancer surrenders to the music as if he were the director, seeking to make his body his complete or final instrument, and the dancer can only surrender to the music if he wants his body to serve to express his influence. Dancing to a rhythm without conscious thought is a pure reaction, it is not an art.
The dancers are agents of music, there to express something of the spirit of their inspiration from the composer. If we like music that we are asked to dance to, there is an easy relationship and harmony between the music, its source, and our bodies. Everything is in tune and the dancer can add the ingredient of his own intelligence and convey his feelings through his body language. If we are not attracted to music, then the dancer is a mere puppet. In the future, using a dancer without him having a conscious desire to express the music will be seen as abuse of the dancer! It is not a true and excellent example of the art form at all, unless the music and the dancer are one.
If we hear a discordant sound and it is fashionable to move towards it, one must be very skilled or insensitive or perhaps both in the desire to express chaos and discord. The real jarring notes of life are too well known in the reality of life without having to write them in bold. Modern times are difficult with little rhythm, melody, or harmony in any popular music.
In nightclubs, the lighting makes uneven vibrations through the chaos and for a dancer who is sensitive to the beauty and harmonies of inspired music, it creates an unintelligent, purposeless and crazy atmosphere. There can be no reason why such occasions are not prohibited due to noise, in order to preserve the health and hearing of all concerned. The brains of all those involved are damaged, to what extent, only the future will reveal. Participants do not deserve the name of a dancer, but they are often enslaved by drugs and the hypnotic rhythms of the drums.
Modern music is not harmonious. Therefore, a dancer’s body must become jerky and tense, stretched to extreme tension, tested beyond its inherent strength, making demands that are acrobatic, exaggerated, unnatural, and generally unattractive. Beauty is the ingredient that is neglected, even forgotten. And in judging the result, anyone who witnesses such movement to the beat of that music may gape at techniques that push the limits of bodily capabilities, but leave the audience empty.
Music is best understood as food for the soul. This was and still is the classic approach to art that was dedicated to the purpose of delighting listeners, telling a story, honoring a person, state, greater ideal, expressing the spirit of a nation, or in spiritual dedication to religious worship. and the glories. of God. Music was an expression that served to enrich the listeners. At its best and most powerful, music can touch the spirits of thousands, who for a time experience the pleasure of a feeling of unity beyond the diversity in human life.
The dancer depends on the music. Dance is visible music!
Dance has always been part of human culture and will undoubtedly continue to be so. In times past, as in ancient Egypt, dancers were trained in temples, dedicated to the gods, their art was sanctified, and were used within the powerful ritual that was used in external ceremonies and rituals to involve people and knead. groupthink. in pray. In ancient Indian traditions, temple dancers also had a place of respect and their music and dances were dedicated to the gods.
In ancient Greece, and indeed in all ancient civilizations, it was the same: there were the temple dances and the popular dances of the general population.
In our western culture we do not have an equivalent system that allows everyone to have their place. In fact, in our religion and Christian worship there is no place and has never been considered one for dancing.
So, in our way of life, we are the poorest. We only have to resort to the dance of the masses, that which only expresses the spirit of the people, and this always lacks inspiration. But we have our classical music that has served to inspire many millions of people around the world. So in this, we have a ‘conductor’, but where are the dancers who can make their bodies instruments capable of expressing the exquisite sounds and spirit of such glorious arrangements of notes? There are thousands of skilled dancers, but are they attuned to the spirit to meet the needs of art?
There are many musicians trained in classical music and many dancers trained in classical dance. Surely they can support each other to act as twin arts in creating something truly beautiful?