MY EXISTENTIAL JOURNEY OF ART: DANCE

OBSERVATION: MASTER CLASS / MODERN DANCE AND THE BALLET DANCERS OF  DEGAS’ PAINTINGS

I was granted permission to observe a Master Dance class/workshop (modern dance) at the Greensboro Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, November 5, 2011. During the same week, I happened upon an NPR article about an exhibition of the works of Degas, titled “Degas's Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint” [http://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions/degas/index.aspx]. The Degas exhibition, at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., began October 1, 2011 and will run through January 8, 2012.

After the Master Class observation, I re-read the article about the Degas exhibition. As a result, themes from both coalesced for me: a perspective of dance as art for the ultimate purpose of performance -- and -- dance as embodied art expressed from a space of personal passion and practice. The opportunity to observe the master class was a microscope into real-life dance practice. In particular, I felt privileged to watch dance being created and expressed in the moment, with a continual evolution of movements relative to the motions of the human body: dancers achieving (or not) the proper spin: executing (or not) a perfectly pointed toe; maintaining (or not) the proper rounding of arms.

Similarly, as highlighted in the NPR piece, the content of Degas’ paintings depict the practice of ballet dancers (as opposed to formal performance) because he was more captivated by the daily lives of dancers than any singular performance. I internalized these two renditions of dance practice as art in the making, as daily life for the dancer as art maker. Further, the experience of observing an actual dance practice, conducted by a professional dancer, and the visual themes represented by Degas’ paintings of ballet dancers in the studio provide spaces for sensory and interpretive experiences, on the part of the viewer, pertaining to aspects of the creative process at work.

I was aware of the existential significance for each dancer in the workshop as (1) an individual experience of self as artist/dancer and (2) the group experience as a dancer among peers, creating a community of dancers.

Following is a quote from the NPR article about Degas’ paintings of ballet dancers in practice:

Degas' art emerged from these privileged, private moments. In fact, he rarely showed ballerinas in performance. Instead, they stretch at barres, pull up a stocking, or bend to adjust a satin toe shoe ribbon. In their pretty tutus and sashes, they are in the process of making art — that's the subject of Degas' obsession.

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/03/141905600/degas-dancers-behind-the-scenes-at-the-barre]

           

Another interesting point about the Degas exhibition is the fact that it includes an area where two mirrors and a real ballet barre are mounted for actual use by visitors. According to the article, a visiting dancer could not resist stretching on the barre. This scenario illustrates, for me, the personal passion that I believe motivates the authentic artist. Doing her art is part of who she is and, thus, an essential part of her self-expression and her existential authenticity.