During the first few classes, I was getting inspiration from videos like these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2va6vdbwE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nO64YM1Qk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctF_nRGgzXM&feature=related
and I thought their movements were so filled with emotion and super beautiful and I just really wanted to copy and be able to do all of that. Watching and hearing Graham speak about the fact that we all have our own movement, style, and way brings something different to the scene. Her video was not like any of the ones above. The movements are either very short and jagged or very slow and they are very secular in that they represent barely exaggerated movements of everyday life. If I had to do a dance of lament to the music playing in Graham's dance, I'd imagine mine would be completely different, reaching out more and moving as smoothly as I can because I would imagine a river of tears that would wind up into each other. If I were to do happiness I would probably do the same thing, except make it faster. This is probably because I have an image in my mind dedicated to making movement aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps a goal in this class would be to be able to throw away the need to make everything "look good" and just really go with movement in and of itself. I wonder how Graham sees lament, why her movements are so box-like and unflowing. Perhaps this is the product of truly being able to throw away the ties and obligations to the standards set by society. It is truly admirable.
Martha Graham certainly was one to do things differently. Compared to the clips shown in the intro of ballroom, ballet, and vaudeville dancing, I think Graham's work really was revolutionary for her time. From the excerpts shown in the video, her dances felt like pure, raw emotion to me. But the other dances, like the ballroom, seemed like just entertainment, not emotional. I also like how Graham made use of costuming. The black figures in Heretic really do seem imposing and the confining shroud in Lament was really striking. But what struck me the most was the dancing in Lament. I think it was an especially exemplary instance of having a beautiful dance that doesn't need a storyline attached to it. It can still have powerful meaning, but it doesn't need characters or a narrative.
Graham’s performance was absolutely beautiful. The emotions displayed in her work were breathtaking. One striking quote that came from her that I absolutely took to heart was, “ Secret language that comes from your body and your heart.” Also, the performance at the end, “Dance of Mourning” of Graham’s was also breath taking. When she appeared in her own skin stretching through her costume, the scene was so engaging and striking. Even just the color purple was very powerful. Thus, the dance she made was so emotional and breathtaking. I felt connected with this piece because of the emotion behind it and I experienced a moment where the performance took me and I became so mesmerized and engaged into her performance that I believe I had a “aw moment “(where you grab your chest moment) where I believe I experienced her secret language projecting out of her performance and through me.
During the first few classes, I was getting inspiration from videos like these:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2va6vdbwE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98nO64YM1Qk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctF_nRGgzXM&feature=related
and I thought their movements were so filled with emotion and super beautiful and I just really wanted to copy and be able to do all of that. Watching and hearing Graham speak about the fact that we all have our own movement, style, and way brings something different to the scene.
Her video was not like any of the ones above. The movements are either very short and jagged or very slow and they are very secular in that they represent barely exaggerated movements of everyday life.
If I had to do a dance of lament to the music playing in Graham's dance, I'd imagine mine would be completely different, reaching out more and moving as smoothly as I can because I would imagine a river of tears that would wind up into each other. If I were to do happiness I would probably do the same thing, except make it faster. This is probably because I have an image in my mind dedicated to making movement aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps a goal in this class would be to be able to throw away the need to make everything "look good" and just really go with movement in and of itself. I wonder how Graham sees lament, why her movements are so box-like and unflowing. Perhaps this is the product of truly being able to throw away the ties and obligations to the standards set by society. It is truly admirable.
Martha Graham certainly was one to do things differently. Compared to the clips shown in the intro of ballroom, ballet, and vaudeville dancing, I think Graham's work really was revolutionary for her time. From the excerpts shown in the video, her dances felt like pure, raw emotion to me. But the other dances, like the ballroom, seemed like just entertainment, not emotional. I also like how Graham made use of costuming. The black figures in Heretic really do seem imposing and the confining shroud in Lament was really striking. But what struck me the most was the dancing in Lament. I think it was an especially exemplary instance of having a beautiful dance that doesn't need a storyline attached to it. It can still have powerful meaning, but it doesn't need characters or a narrative.
ReplyDeleteGraham’s performance was absolutely beautiful. The emotions displayed in her work were breathtaking. One striking quote that came from her that I absolutely took to heart was, “ Secret language that comes from your body and your heart.” Also, the performance at the end, “Dance of Mourning” of Graham’s was also breath taking. When she appeared in her own skin stretching through her costume, the scene was so engaging and striking. Even just the color purple was very powerful. Thus, the dance she made was so emotional and breathtaking. I felt connected with this piece because of the emotion behind it and I experienced a moment where the performance took me and I became so mesmerized and engaged into her performance that I believe I had a “aw moment “(where you grab your chest moment) where I believe I experienced her secret language projecting out of her performance and through me.
ReplyDelete