We just saw that in YAGP this week: young dancers, almost perfect but almost none emotion, artistry or musicality. It's not their falt, they've been trained that way, companies look for that...sad.
Well spoken and valuable, as usual. If we understand Classical to mean a school of thought, rather than merely a style tied to a particular period, the idea of perfection is a process, not a point of arrival, as you said. A corollary to this is the understanding that Classical composition strives for unity of all elements; that everything contributes to it, nothing is superfluous or arbitrary. As you have emphasized, this cannot exist without the emotion that is the reason for the movement. In film-making, one refers to "motivated lighting," which is related: lighting effects that appear to have a reason, unlike, for instance, the top and backlighting that separate teh actor from the background and put a lovely shine on his or her hair, despite his or her standing in a living room set with a lightless, low ceiling -- "perfect" lighting with no relation to the environment in which the action is occurring. To put it in ballet terms (though I am not a dancer), I think of the difference between a "perfect"-ly cold movement through an arabesque, and one in which the ballerina's expression, gesture of the head and eyes, and finish through the wrist and hand down to the finger tips simply flows so that, even though the timing is on the music, it almost seems to slow down. Where does this come from? It comes from inside the emotion behind the movement. That is, the movement is directed by the emotion, rather than having a technical "perfection scorecard" imposed from the outside, as if it were the Olympics. The great 20th-Century conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler wrote about music being "between the notes," or "behind" them. Same idea -- the continuity, and the nature of the quality of movement (and sound), come from an idea, not from the notes themselves. In the musical score, there may be a forte or a pianissimo, a retard, a crescendo, etc., but each is only a symbol left by the composer as an indication of his or her idea, and the appropriate linked emotion, to convey what is happening in the music at that time. None of these markings has any absolute value found in a look-up table of decibels or tempo. In performing, every performance is different. The stage, the hall, the acoustics, the day, the audience, and, of course, the complex of interactions that begin once you step out onto the stage. If, say, two of us are performing, we make infinitesimal adjustments as we proceed, as we feel the breathing of a piece developing in the moment. This is the art, which supersedes whatever level technique we have achieved.
As a dancer, I strove for perfection, even though I knew I was far from it. But for me, that was the point: reach for the unattainable goal, even though I knew I'd never reach it. As a teacher, though, I never ask for perfection, but for correctness. Being correct is more attainable, so when students are struggling or make a mistake, I let them know it's okay, and remind them they did it before, so they are capable of doing it again. It seems to help curb frustration, but my students never really let me know how they feel and they're hard to read sometimes. Thanks for another great video!
Hi Brian- thanks for the comment! It sounds like you’re doing a very good job at teaching these students. If you are worried or want to know what your students are thinking, ask them. Think of yourself as a parent. If you’re concerned or you know how a child is developing, you have to ask to understand what their thought processes are. I hope this helps! Thank you for watching.
I agree with all you said completely! That's why i love watching the dance of ballerinas of the beginning and the middle of the 20th century. All these crazy turnouts and too high legs of the later periods in ballet look completely senseless and sometimes even repulsive as if the bodies of the dancers have been crippled. I can't get what is the point to lift a leg in a la seconde up to your ear? To me it looks not only unexpressive, but even ugly. They've gone too far with all these perfection games and lost the meaning of dance itself. And i agree that the atmosphere in a class or at rehearsal should be focused first on learning the technique and then on expressions and emotions which a dance is supposed to convey. Watching most of the contemporary classical ballerinas makes me bored in a few minutes, but i can endlessly enjoy the dance of Galina Ulanova, Margo Fontaine, Marina Semyonova, Maya Plisetskaya, Nadezda Pavlova and other great dancers of the past, who up to our times remain unparalleled and unsurpassed because of their artistic, deeply emotional and technically expressive performances.
TBH, I don't really get the attraction of the 180° turnout. Yes, your feet look nicer when "presented" if you have decent turnout, but you don't need 180° for that.
We just saw that in YAGP this week: young dancers, almost perfect but almost none emotion, artistry or musicality. It's not their falt, they've been trained that way, companies look for that...sad.
Exactly!
Another great video, thank you so much 🫶🏻
Well spoken and valuable, as usual.
If we understand Classical to mean a school of thought, rather than merely a style tied to a particular period, the idea of perfection is a process, not a point of arrival, as you said. A corollary to this is the understanding that Classical composition strives for unity of all elements; that everything contributes to it, nothing is superfluous or arbitrary. As you have emphasized, this cannot exist without the emotion that is the reason for the movement.
In film-making, one refers to "motivated lighting," which is related: lighting effects that appear to have a reason, unlike, for instance, the top and backlighting that separate teh actor from the background and put a lovely shine on his or her hair, despite his or her standing in a living room set with a lightless, low ceiling -- "perfect" lighting with no relation to the environment in which the action is occurring.
To put it in ballet terms (though I am not a dancer), I think of the difference between a "perfect"-ly cold movement through an arabesque, and one in which the ballerina's expression, gesture of the head and eyes, and finish through the wrist and hand down to the finger tips simply flows so that, even though the timing is on the music, it almost seems to slow down. Where does this come from? It comes from inside the emotion behind the movement. That is, the movement is directed by the emotion, rather than having a technical "perfection scorecard" imposed from the outside, as if it were the Olympics.
The great 20th-Century conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler wrote about music being "between the notes," or "behind" them. Same idea -- the continuity, and the nature of the quality of movement (and sound), come from an idea, not from the notes themselves. In the musical score, there may be a forte or a pianissimo, a retard, a crescendo, etc., but each is only a symbol left by the composer as an indication of his or her idea, and the appropriate linked emotion, to convey what is happening in the music at that time. None of these markings has any absolute value found in a look-up table of decibels or tempo.
In performing, every performance is different. The stage, the hall, the acoustics, the day, the audience, and, of course, the complex of interactions that begin once you step out onto the stage. If, say, two of us are performing, we make infinitesimal adjustments as we proceed, as we feel the breathing of a piece developing in the moment. This is the art, which supersedes whatever level technique we have achieved.
True. Perfection is philosophical, everyone has an opinion and believes it should look a certain way. I believe perfection is in the imperfections :)
As a dancer, I strove for perfection, even though I knew I was far from it. But for me, that was the point: reach for the unattainable goal, even though I knew I'd never reach it. As a teacher, though, I never ask for perfection, but for correctness. Being correct is more attainable, so when students are struggling or make a mistake, I let them know it's okay, and remind them they did it before, so they are capable of doing it again. It seems to help curb frustration, but my students never really let me know how they feel and they're hard to read sometimes. Thanks for another great video!
Hi Brian- thanks for the comment!
It sounds like you’re doing a very good job at teaching these students. If you are worried or want to know what your students are thinking, ask them. Think of yourself as a parent. If you’re concerned or you know how a child is developing, you have to ask to understand what their thought processes are. I hope this helps! Thank you for watching.
I agree with all you said completely!
That's why i love watching the dance of ballerinas of the beginning and the middle of the 20th century.
All these crazy turnouts and too high legs of the later periods in ballet look completely senseless and sometimes even repulsive as if the bodies of the dancers have been crippled.
I can't get what is the point to lift a leg in a la seconde up to your ear? To me it looks not only unexpressive, but even ugly. They've gone too far with all these perfection games and lost the meaning of dance itself.
And i agree that the atmosphere in a class or at rehearsal should be focused first on learning the technique and then on expressions and emotions which a dance is supposed to convey.
Watching most of the contemporary classical ballerinas makes me bored in a few minutes, but i can endlessly enjoy the dance of Galina Ulanova, Margo Fontaine, Marina Semyonova, Maya Plisetskaya, Nadezda Pavlova and other great dancers of the past, who up to our times remain unparalleled and unsurpassed because of their artistic, deeply emotional and technically expressive performances.
💯
Agree with u 100%. Ballet is becoming more n more athletic n less n less artistic. The days of Svetlana Zakharova are gone.
TBH, I don't really get the attraction of the 180° turnout. Yes, your feet look nicer when "presented" if you have decent turnout, but you don't need 180° for that.