I enjoyed the dance numbers. I loved the talent and grace shown. I loved the music and the costumes. But during the whole show there was one thing I couldn't get my mind off of: the different ways the movements reflected the role of womanhood. I noted the choices made without always assuming I knew what was meant by those stylistic choices. For example, I noted that in one contemporary dance the lines between men and women were virtually extinguished. They dressed the same and danced the same. The girls were lifted by guys and also by girls. It wasn't about a separation in genders like so many of the couples dances are; some might interpret that it was just about the dancing without any regard to gender. I wanted to share my observations without having to commit to any specific interpretation.
The most obvious projection a dance can give off about women is by how modestly they are dressed. If anything signals how closely dance toes the line between grace and seduction it's the fact that girls sometimes wear ludicrously immodest clothes (check out any of the TV dance shows if you think I'm exaggerating), this begs the question of what the purpose of such dancing is. I didn't feel that BYU fell into this trap. Of course, I was also on the side of hoping that when BYU goes to competitions no one is confused about who is with BYU and who is with the other competitors (unless they are flawlessly modest too:)).
Besides dress, there is also the projection of how they interact with their partners. The international dances had a very strong community and celebratory feel. In one the girls and the guys danced completely separately and in the other both groups danced with everyone in turns. This really lent itself to the nostalgic, communal feel. In some of the other dances there were distinct couples throughout the entire dance (ballroom being an obvious example). The ballet numbers offered an interesting contrast. The first ballet number featured only three girls, emphasizing grace. One of the later numbers had a very distinct teasing feel as one girl toyed with 2 or 3 guys, this was also comparable to the flirty 20's themed dance. In the number "High on the Mountain Top", the men in the dance weren't present as real partners, they were simply there to add to the impressive female performance. And of course, it must be recognized that the role of a woman was represented by a blow up doll in the "Wheelenese Waltz," I don't think I could begin to interpret what that might mean!
Finally there is the personal interpretation of the dancers themselves. The most interesting thing I noted was in the "Tango Sabroso" (I think), the choreography was actually interpreted differently by two different dancers. To me, this brought in the difference between those who simply dance and those who act while they're dancing. I considering these two separate but equal so it really just was interesting for me to note. One girl focused on going through the motions of the dance, trying to make them as correct and beautiful as possible. The other girl was acting; she added facial expression and a distinct tone to her dancing. Both gave a different reflection on women in dance, one reached for the beautiful, the other for the alluring.
Dancing has the power to glorify the roles of women in grace and beauty or to demean and abase their role to that of a prostitute. The style of dancing adopted by a culture is a reflection of where on this spectrum women are viewed (though I'll be the first to recognize that there is no black and white interpretation). I am happy that -- in general-- the women in "World of Dance" were granted a position of respect.
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