Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Dance
Now that the show is over, I'm going to focus on technique, because I have that luxury. It's able to be more about the details of my body, than about putting up a show. Also, I'm going to take lots of classes. Ballet and such. And join the gym.
About butoh, Jay said some interesting stuff today: " butoh, there's not much movement - but what's there is expectant - pregnant with meaning"
As a reminder, here are some of the characteristics of butoh
The body in crisis
The goal is to remove the "I", and dance only from image
One is also being the image - be paper burning - not just trying to show the image
There is also the same value for each image, so flushing the toilet is the same as ascending to heaven, and they are all sacred,
or none of it is sacred. However, my feeling is that it is all sacred by virtue of being in a performance
One is transforming space and time by moving.
My absolutely serious question is this: could you do this in a strip club and have it still be butoh? I think so. A la Karen Finley. Or also, what if you did a strip tease - all the movements of a strip tease. This could be butoh. There's something about the undressing of butoh being about vulnerability and openness. It would be very interesting to be vulnerable and open in a venue where you are definitely not being witnessed, but being spectated. I think there's something show-wise in there for me. Something about my desire to be a spectacle - to have people look at me at all costs.
About butoh, Jay said some interesting stuff today: " butoh, there's not much movement - but what's there is expectant - pregnant with meaning"
As a reminder, here are some of the characteristics of butoh
The body in crisis
The goal is to remove the "I", and dance only from image
One is also being the image - be paper burning - not just trying to show the image
There is also the same value for each image, so flushing the toilet is the same as ascending to heaven, and they are all sacred,
or none of it is sacred. However, my feeling is that it is all sacred by virtue of being in a performance
One is transforming space and time by moving.
My absolutely serious question is this: could you do this in a strip club and have it still be butoh? I think so. A la Karen Finley. Or also, what if you did a strip tease - all the movements of a strip tease. This could be butoh. There's something about the undressing of butoh being about vulnerability and openness. It would be very interesting to be vulnerable and open in a venue where you are definitely not being witnessed, but being spectated. I think there's something show-wise in there for me. Something about my desire to be a spectacle - to have people look at me at all costs.
// posted by MSR @ 5:53 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
Interesting question. Somehow I don't think it would work in the ambiance of a strip club where patrons probably just expect performers to shed clothing and be on display. But perhaps, yes, it could work in another venue. And about wanting to be looked at, aren't all actors/performers exhibitionists to some degree? :-)
# posted by 
: 7:14 AM
: 7:14 AM
Ah, but this is just it. Why must the expectation of the audience dictate the medium of the art? is art only art when it is located where you would expect it to be? I would say no.
I would say that all performers are exhibitionists to some degree yes, but it becomes tricky when one has the exhibitionist impulse in a voyeuristic culture like our own. We have to be very judicious about how we choose to exhibit ourselves, I think.
I would say that all performers are exhibitionists to some degree yes, but it becomes tricky when one has the exhibitionist impulse in a voyeuristic culture like our own. We have to be very judicious about how we choose to exhibit ourselves, I think.
Location, location, location! Okay, fair enough, location would not dictate that it is art, but the expectations of the audience might leave the artist somewhat disappointed. All I was saying is the environment is very base and crude so to speak and could be very unsatisfying for a performer anticipating a better appreciation of his/her performance. Stripping used to be an art, especially in burlesque, but it's been very much commercialized, so to speak, where the performer has to have a great bod and just be willing to undress gradually to music. He/she doesn't even have to be a good dancer! A return of striptease as an art would be welcome. Don't know if your actual strip clubs would welcome a new "product" which may involve delayed gratification to a greater degree for their audiences (more than they're accustomed to) and hopefully elicit a different appreciation of the performance. You'd have to demonstrate how. ;-)So,yes, be very judicious where you choose to expose yourself. Your attempts to get strip club patrons to appreciate butoh may fall on deaf eyes. :-)
Post a Comment
# posted by : 11:42 AM
: 11:42 AM << Home
