Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Poetry dance and other cultures
After class yesterday, I was moved by the different interpretations of the coupling of poetry and dance. I wanted to research this relationship further and discover if this was done in other cultures. I found this video of Classical Indian dance and poetry. Poetry is oftentimes used in stylized Indian dance to interpret a story or theme. I learned that a typical recital of Odissi (Classical Indian dance) contains at least one ashtapadis, which is a poem of eight couplets. I appreciate this finding because it shows that we were working on something that others have had in their traditions since the beginning. It makes me wonder, what other cultures use poetry and dance?
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In Classical Indian dance, mudras are important and significant in the dance. These hand gestures help narrate the story and interpret the message.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday, I had mentioned Flamenco. Flamenco uses palos, which are musical forms. Each palo is categorized according to the rhythmic style and the type of stanza used. The cante of a song is associated with emotion, so the dancer will embody and portray the emotion.
In many different cultures literature and poetry is used to add to the dance. The mudras that Elo mentioned are one way that dance and poetry combine in different cultures. In Japanese culture the text of a performance piece is used to add lyricism to the otherwise simple movements and is used to create characterization and tell the story of a piece. In bangladesh poetry is often combined with dance for various reasons.
ReplyDeleteWhat interests me, though, is not how many other cultures use poetry or other text in dance but rather, why does our culture seem to shy away from use of text and dance? In what many would consider traditional dance styles there are no lyrics or spoken word to accompany dance. This is changing but it is still the norm to see a performed piece without text. Many people associate lyrics with either character dances, broadway styles, or juvenile and competitive dance styles. In some circles, these styles are seen as less artistic. Class discussion even showed that there was a certain fear and discomfort in using words. Many dancers didn't want to get tied down to the words of their poem or become too literal with the words. Some dancers expressed, almost a fear,of using spoken words as an inspiration, as if it were limiting.
I wonder what it is about our culture that makes us fearful of being literal, of being tied down to the words, or of feeling somehow less artistic and expressive. When did our dance style lose the concept of story and dialogue? More so, why are we so ready to embrace the rhythm and lyricism of music to dance to but not willing to embrace the rhythm and passion of text?