Dance as Art

Up until I was 20, I lived my life orthogonal to Dance.  I didn't get it. Not only did I not dance myself, I didn't get it as an art form.  Sure, my friend Jack had taken us all to see that 1985 one-off movie "White Nights"

and I thought it was kinda cool, but only kinda cool because it was so weird and different.  Ballet was something I felt I should like since I was into classical music, but honestly it left me uninspired.

Then, on a whim, I took my girlfriend to see the Margaret Jenkins dance company at Purdue. Well, I was simply blown away.  I thought it was amazing.  It was like going to a dynamic modern art exhibit with a soundtrack.  I really felt like I had never seen something that cool before.*  I went on to catch every modern dance show that came through West Lafayette (there were not many).  

Then, when I moved to Pittsburgh, I bought season tickets to their modern dance series downtown and I caught maybe 4 shows a year from 1993-1995.  I went by myself since I didn't know anyone else who was into it.  I got to see the Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey Dance Co,  and many other amazing performances.  The one that really got me was Bill T Jones' Still/Here.  It was the first time (and only 1 of 2 times in my entire life (the other being Nick Cave)) when I was moved to buy a commemorative T-Shirt at the venue.  I still wear it occasionally with reverence to this day.**

After I left Pittsburgh, I kind of left that passion behind.  Pittsburgh was also the place where I actually went out dancing with friends too (the Upstage near campus, and the Metropol downtown were the spots).  Funny I never before realized that I left both dancing for fun and dancing as art behind around the same time!

Fast forward to this year when a good friend asked me to catch a dance performance that he was unable to attend.  The performance was here in town and featured original but classically-inspired and informed Indian dance.  The choreographer (Pallavi Nagesha) was on stage with the musicians and the solo dancer (Revati Masilamani) was simply amazing.  

Watching her precision, athleticism, grace, and physical story-telling was a real treat and brought back all that appreciation I had had for dance-as-art.  It wasn't anything like what I had gone to in my youth, but dance as an embodiment of expression is universal.

Funny that a friend I have hardly ever seen since my Alabama days would recommend a dance performance in my current hometown from his current residence in Germany. Being the only white person in attendance, it brought me back to the awkward self-awareness I had in Pittsburgh when mid 20's Ken went to those performance alone as well.  But, in both cases, once the dancing started, I was transported and transfixed.  

You know, that friend in Germany also saw White Nights in 1985 with Jack.  Life is funny with its twists and turns, isn't it?

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*I remember asking "Did you like it?" and she laughed "Yes, but not as much as you!"

** Years later, a random guy stopped me in a grocery store in Houston and pointed at the T-shirt and asked "Bill T Jones?"  I smiled and agreed.  He looked stunned and stood visibly struggling emotionally for a moment, then said "Very cool shirt", and walked away in a daze.