Dancing with the community

In urban and rural communities, the arts and specifically dance can and should be playing an important role in connecting us. Dance has existed throughout history, across cultures and across the planet. As far as we can trace it, the act of dancing seems to have always been a way for people to gather, unify and celebrate.

The arts have a transformative potential of uniting us while making us stronger individually. This past weekend my small town in Northern Alabama celebrated Oktoberfest. My town is a wonderful little town with many advantages, but it is also a bit of a sleepy town when it comes to the arts. However, every year, over the course of a weekend my town is alive and kicking, celebrating its German origins with hours of live music, folk art displays, singing, and dancing. The sound of the accordion and the rhythm of the drums seem to have a wonderful effect on a young and not so young disparate crowd that demonstrate unity while dancing to the tempo of folk music. Many locals return several times to the party to enjoy the various bands invited and meet old and new friends. Oktoberfest is a celebration anchored in a past when dancing was part of everyone’s lives. But, today, it seems that without a two-century old tradition we would never get together and dance? When did we stop dancing and enjoying music collectively? Arts and religions are historically intertwined and we can argue that the ritual and the social were inseparable back in time.  In my community religious gatherings are still numerous and music is still being played in churches and heard in the bars, but dancers have disappeared from the village square.  It is very likely that in today’s world religion and art have taken two different paths and that is quite all right. However, we must make sure that the dance does not stop once the Nutcracker is back in its box.

 What happened in my town last weekend was a clear demonstration of how music and dance can bring a community together. So, we must ask ourselves if we are doing everything we can to promote our art? It is likely that our voices are not heard loud enough in this land of sports. We, dance teachers, know the wonderful effect our art can have on our children, but it looks like we simply forgot to tell the folks in our communities.  In 2020 dance should not be, and never truly was, about cuteness and beauty, whatever these words mean. The dance we must promote is about strength, balance and dignity and a successful performance should be a display of these qualities. True art is about integrity and dedication and our dancers have a lot to offer to their communities.   

I believe that dance schools can and often do provide significant cultural benefits to their communities. Dance and ballet should be the epicenter of culture in small towns. Why? Because dance is a combination of both visual and musical arts and an activity both physical and artistic that is accessible to most children.  Dance is also a great way to explore a large variety of cultures through the study of the various ballets, dancers and choreographers that have contributed to the greatness of the world of dance over the years. Indeed, dance schools and companies can have a large impact on communities when fun, educational and structured programs are offered to a large public. In order to do so, dance schools will have to withdraw from the tyrannic world of baseless dance competitions and should focus on increasing the technical ability of their students. Indeed, the focus of dance education should not be on trophies but on knowledge. Dance is a creative journey that is meant to open and elevate the mind and that is why it is often compared to religion. Violette Verdy used to say that “a dancer should have the dedication of a nun and the strength of a boxer.” Children and teenagers benefit greatly from the practice of dance and, in turn, it is also fair to affirm that communities have a lot to gain by promoting the artistic education of their young citizens. Ballet schools and company directors and community leaders will need to work together. The arts must receive the same support sports activities do. In 1981 late Tomm Ruud, principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet, made the following comment about his craft and the people who were becoming increasingly interested in dance in the 1950’s and 60’s – “In a way they are tired of contact sports that are offense and defense. We don’t do offense and defense. Ours is a group working together to make a total picture.” This strong interest for dance in the 1950’s did not happen by itself and during this period a tremendous effort was produced by the Ford foundation to promote dance across the United States. Indeed, beyond the work accomplished by independent dance schools, local communities must bring their support, with the same enthusiasm they have for sports.  In 1957 the Ford Foundation did not single handedly change the face of dance and dance education in America. The momentum given to dance by the Ford Foundation later on received the backing of private and public entities. And why? Because, dance became fashionable, popular and therefore sponsored. Let’s do that again.

I have seen too many little girls, and little boys as well, dragging their feet on their way to an interminable baseball game, or having to watch their brother play football for hours. Please, be certain that I am in no way criticizing what our wonderful sports coaches do for our youth, I am just saying that children must have more choices when it comes to their extra scholar activities and also more exposures to the arts. And, by the way, dancers are great athletes too and the only difference is that they can make elegant pirouettes and grand jetes.  You have all watched your children dance and laugh at family weddings. Children are born to dance, it is only adults who sometimes forget that they can.

“When nations grow old, the Arts grow cold…” William Blake warned us. So, let's stay young and dance!