I have to admit, formal dance isn't my thing. I'm not the biggest fan of dance. It's hard for me to make myself care. Regardless, it was somewhat interesting to see the phenomenon of a BYU dance performance. Upon arrival, there was much hustling and bustling in the HFAC building and for some reason this put a smirk on my face. I think it was sort of funny to watch some people act like this was the event of a lifetime and I could feel that some people were literally ecstatic to be there. Good for them.
Anyways, after waiting for a delayed start, the performance began. I was not particularly impressed and was more interested in the audience's reaction. The thing that stuck out most to me was that there was a much better reaction to the dances with music that struck the audience. The songs with lighter, slower music seemed more like obligatory pieces to let those certain dance groups have their turn. As much as I tried to feel bad for the groups that didn't get so much attention, I didn't really. You have to believe that putting as much work into a performance like this they have to be pleased to just be doing it. I don't know how they could expect a general audience to understand the complexity of their movement, or whatever someone appreciative of dance would see.
I think that because the dances were so based in music, I couldn't help but feel like I was being forced to listen to a mix tape that groups of people had come up with stuff to do onstage for. This is essentially what dance is, but I am more musically inclined so it's hard to focus. I applaud the dancers for their efforts and ability to perform this show at BYU. The one thought I can't go without saying is that blow up dolls should most likely be banned from the BYU campus... I'm surprised they already aren't.
I am inclined to agree, to some extent, with your comments about the audience's experience. However, I am, fortunately or unfortunately, far more optimistic about life so I can't help but recall the better side of things.
ReplyDeleteThis is not to say your are unjustified, as I arrived a few minutes late and missed nothing. There were a few slower numbers that I found myself getting restless and bored during and some of the dances were more generally appealing than others despite, or perhaps because of, their artistic complexity.
But, alas, we must all have the "yang" with the "yin."
I agree with you on a few points, I myself am more musically influenced and I found that on the slower songs the music seemed to go on for forever. I felt a little bad for the groups that didn't seem to dance as well as the others, but you are correct, at least they had the opportunity to perform.
ReplyDeleteYour view seems to be more pessimistic, and that may be due to the fact that you just don't enjoy dance. I respect that and can agree with you to an extent. I thought it was a great paper even though I didn't agree with all of it. I really enjoyed reading it and hearing your view.
As far as the paper itself goes, just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have to completely bash it. Your reader's going to get bad vibes from you. I feel like this was more of a rant than an analysis of World of Dance anyway.
ReplyDeletePersonally, reading your paper has put me in a boiling rage of fury since I am a dancer myself. It takes a lot more skill and practice than you would think. Just because I don't appreciate or understand football as much as you, doesn't mean i have the right to go around ranting about how much it sucked.
I'd like to see you dance half as well as those people did.
Ooookay sorry about my previous comment. I realize it was really immature of me and I should have just kept that on the inside. But it really was hurtful to read because I am really passionate about dance myself and it's what I love to do. We're all entitled to our own opinions, but we're not entitled to criticize the opinions of others. I, as previously shown, am guilty of this myself and I wanted to apologize for that as well.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on some views. Anytine you get the opportunity to do what you love it is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI did my best to not completely bash dance. Its just not my thing. No offense to anyone and I'm sorry this got a bad reaction out of you. Just my opinion and pretty much irrelevant especially if you disagree. I am not comparing my talent level to theirs at any point (which I thought was clear) . My focus on analyzing was the music and my own thoughts came through. By no means am I trying to force my view on anyone, merely sharing it because this is a required assignment.
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