Here is an essay I wrote for my Master's application. It is in response to a statement that culture affects art.
Dance as art reflects and affects society (Banes 1994, 43). As society's philosophical view changes, so does the aesthetic form in dance (Banes 1994, 44). Indeed recent practices in ballet disrupt the classical body and push the boundaries of the philosophical heritage associated with ballet, challenging the ideals surrounding classicism (Parsons 2011, 2). In an article for the New York Times, dance critic Alistair Macaulay comments on the impact of costuming (or lack thereof) on aesthetic changes in dance.
When
tights are removed from ballet, the art itself is changed…The look of the bare
leg drastically changes the entire aesthetics of the form. Muscular details of
thigh, knee, calf become suddenly distracting. The leg becomes real, the
arabesque not.
Macaulay
2012, online
One of the
central problems for ballet is its heritage.
Classical ballet developed its form and expression from the cultures and
ideals of ancient Greece and Rome (Macaulay 1987, 6). This underlying philosophy, defined as
classicism, promotes harmony, grace, spiritual perfection, moral strength and
the glorification of the human body (Macaulay 1987, 38). Classical ballet represents the most ideal
physical manifestation of this underlying philosophy (Macaulay 1987, 38). Areas within classicism that reflect the
underlying philosophies are the body, movement vocabulary and choreographic
practices (Macaulay 1987, 8). The
principles that define these areas of classical ballet: verticality, excentric rotation of the limbs,
story and costume (Macaulary, 1987). Indeed,
according to Andre Levinson, the arabesque can be viewed as the ultimate
physical expression of bodily classicism.
“The arms and legs stretch out, freeing themselves from the torso,
expanding the chest...and increas(ing) the dimensions of the invisible cylinder
of air around the dancer” (Levinson cited in Macaulay 1987, 38). The classical body reaches up to the heaven,
becoming ethereal and overcoming the weaknesses from its corrupt body. Macaulay is therefore correct. The intent behind the arabesque is not to
reflect the real, but to express an ideal state of being.
Tights and
costuming in ballet promotes this ideal state.
Central to classical Western thought is the view that the mind and body
are separate (Thomas 1995, 6). “Rationality
takes precedence over emotions, idealism over materialism, culture over nature,
objectivity over subjectivity” (Thomas 1995, 6). Helen Thomas comments on the importance of
clothing in maintain separateness. The
body is seen as corrupt and primitive and clothing operates at the interface
between the ‘natural body’ and the ‘social body’ [and] has been used as a
symbolic battleground for cultural supremacy and counter-hegemonic attacks
(Thomas 1995, 7). Costuming in ballet
plays an important part in reflecting this civilized, spiritual and rational
ideal of classical thought. Therefore,
through Macaulay’s observation, the arabesque remains classical, intrinsically
and extrinsically, under the control of tights.
However, what is the implication for ballet when the arabesque is
performed sans tights? Macaulay believes
that if ballet’s innate form is an underlying philosophy, then changing
socio-cultural ideals and values will be reflected within the movement
vocabulary and choreographic works, “extend(ing) classicism into new forms”
(Macaulay 1987, 37)
Contemporary
issues such as naturalism, feminism, technology, multicultural awareness,
sexism impact our framework of thoughts and erode or blur earlier philosophical
boundaries (Thomas 1995, 17). These
historical, social and cultural discourses counteract the ideal body, which is
often removed from the tangibleness of the lived body. In Writing Dance in the
Age of Postmodernism, Sally Banes points out that today we marvel at physical
skill, endurance, athleticism, ambition and control (Banes 1994, 278). The body is now celebrated rather than
hidden. The body is real, rather than
ideal.
Dancers attempts
to free themselves from the ideological boundaries imposed by classicism by
pushing themselves against the constraints of the classical form. The dancing body is pushed to its limits by
highlighting strength, control, endurance through hyper-extensions and rigorous
athleticism (Banes 1994, 279). But
unlike modernism, the movement vocabulary is still based on the classical
principles (Copeland and Cohen 1983, 232).
Performing with minimal costuming reflects the rejection of hegemony and
the blending gender roles in society (Thomas 1995, 7). Lack of tutu and tights also provides the ballerina
with freedom of movement enabling her to demonstrate amazing athleticism
(Copeland and Cohen 1983, 5).
Ballets
heritage in classicism is being challenged through current dance practices that
reflect contemporary philosophies.
However by disrupting the classical body, expanding the movement
vocabulary and minimizing costumes emergent philosophies can be reflected
through the classical dance. Recent
practices in ballet reorient the art form from its identification with
classical repertoire to a dynamic 21st century art form.
Bibliography
Printed Sources
Banes, S. 1994 Writing in the Age of Postmodernism. Connecticut:
Wesleyan University Press.
Copeland, R and Cohen, M. 1983 What is Dance? New York:
Oxford University Press.
Macaulay, A. 1987 “Notes on Dance Classicism” from Dance Theatre
Journal 5 (2) London: Laban.
Parsons, S. 2011 Wayne McGregor:
Ballet Anarchist? A Critical
Evaluation on the Impact of McGregor’s Work on Classicism in the 21st
Century, in light of Infra (2008).
Unpublished dissertation. Royal
Academy of Dance: London
Thomas, H. 1995 Dance, Modernity and Culture: Explorations in the Sociology of Dance. New York:
Routledge
Electronic Sources
Macaulay, A. 2012 Nakedness in Dance, Taken to Extremes; The New
York Times [online] 19 August 2012.
Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/arts/dance/nakedness-in-dance-taken-to-extremes.html?pagewanted=all
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