Why would rhythmically based choreography necessarily have more interest than the example you give of the two sides of the body performing disparate intentions? Both utilize simple dance elements, so why the hierarchy? [editor's note: Annie-B Parson is co-choreographer and co-director with Paul Lazar of the widely acclaimed Big Dance Theater, based in New York] … [Read more...]
First response, from writer Paul Parish
great opening gambit. My first thought was to say, "well, Dancing with the Stars had the highest rating in all of television last week -- or some such -- so what makes you say the audiences are small?" So you got ME going.......... and I'm all ready to say things about the arbitrariness of some modern dancers ("why not try to make the left side of the body staccato and the right side legato", … [Read more...]
Why Foot in Mouth?
(PLEASE NOTE: Entries for each week run from oldest to newest. Comments by readers on the week's piece follow below.) If nearly everybody likes to move and watch others move, why are dance audiences so small? When critics consider dance's tiny place in the culture, we tend to blame the dances, the dancing, the funding, the producers, the curators, the artistic directors, the marketing, and the … [Read more...]