tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post1171511255281066567..comments2023-10-28T07:35:48.249-07:00Comments on Keith Hennessy blogs as Zero Performance: Scott Wells & Dancers, Men Want To DanceKeith Hennessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00851890263781094400noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post-30273522200658210192009-06-09T17:19:12.399-07:002009-06-09T17:19:12.399-07:00I really enjoyed reading the comments and reviews,...I really enjoyed reading the comments and reviews, so thank you to everyone for posting. I found the critical discussion of sexual nature of the last piece "call of the wild" particularly interesting.<br /><br />I must preface this comment by saying that, as a dancer participating, I was unable to view the whole picture from outside like the reviewer, but I can talk about how I felt from the inside. <br /> <br />It is undeniable that the piece entered a sexual realm, yet at first I was inclined to disagree with the reviewers criticisms simply because they were not 100% positive. However, after swallowing my pride and reviewing my own feelings I better understand the slight dis-satisfaction with the end. (spoke of by Jorge in the first comment) <br /><br />I also feel like the clothes could have come off earlier and we could have explored more about what that whole 'getting naked thing' really meant. However, i also really appreciated the ambiguity of the end in terms of sexuality. In the ending I was totally unsure weather we were all converging on one an other naked to fight or be lovers. To me, the ending was decidedly masculine yet un-gendered in that it felt neither homo nor heterosexual. I even felt some connection to a less modern, more Ancient Greek interpretation of homosexuality, where in being homosexual was seen as the most masculine a man could be.<br /><br />aside: the most elite fighting force in all Greece for a time was the Sacred Band of Thebes, which was made up of 150 homosexual couples fighting side by side. It was believed that because they were homosexual they were more manly and would fight better side by side as they competed for glory and attention among each other. the rough transition from tender to violent in "call of the wild" reminded me of this group of fighting lovers. <br /><br />Are we assumed to be straight just because we dance like men and do acrobatics and karate? For me the piece wasn't about being queer or straight. It was about being a boy. Loving and fighting and feeling and joking like a man, and there are all kinds of men. Some joke around and "bro out" and some sleep together. I didn't feel like the piece attempted to pass judgment on any one choice, but rather just to express what it is to be a man.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359474604460080425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post-2040745815876524152009-06-09T01:51:45.333-07:002009-06-09T01:51:45.333-07:00First Nations Powwow dancing:
Women's Fancy Sh...First Nations Powwow dancing:<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSAFK7FJ8&feature=related" rel="nofollow">Women's Fancy Shawl</a> <br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daKiOcH8oNo&videos=1l09fNDoTV4" rel="nofollow">Men's Fancy Bustle</a> <br /><br /><br />I post to address the topic of men in dance classes. I was recently asked if there were qualities in ballet and hip-hop that pointed to these forms as male or female. And I related the difference to my knowledge of First Nations men and women powwow dance styles. The basic step in powwow is 1-2 on the left and 1-2 on the right. However, the approach or style is different for men and women. Women step with their foot down and move their body upwards on the one giving a more flighty up-Up-UP aesthetic and men step down and allow their body to follow down on the 1. You may be able to see the difference in the above videos. The women look more akin to butterflies floating and the men are literally down and dirty. And for me (with 12 years of men's powwow dancing under my belt) I find flighty up rhythms in ballet class difficult. I'm not a good balletic jumper. However, I pick up hip-hop choreography fairly easy. And I attribute this to the similarity in rhythm hip-hop shares with the men's powwow styles. There's a hard, down, and aggressive expressiveness in men's powwow and in hip-hop whereas women's powwow styles and ballet (for me) carry a feeling of elevation with the down. The elevation with the down giving the more “feminine” aesthetic which may not be as cathartic for men with a more aggressive expressive tendency. <br /><br />One could also draw a relationship between the hard/ smooth aesthetic of martial arts and that of hip-hop (and powwow for that matter) as it relates to this idea of male interest in artistic disciplines.conflophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17995798351154352968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post-87859368335144920422009-06-09T01:47:27.802-07:002009-06-09T01:47:27.802-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.conflophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17995798351154352968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post-21231232737926379732009-06-09T01:46:39.319-07:002009-06-09T01:46:39.319-07:00Men dancing... some thoughts and experiences.
I...Men dancing... some thoughts and experiences. <br /><br /> I was attending a powwow in Davis California and I had passed out a few flyers for the Scott Wells & Dancers show entitled: "What men Want." The flyer depicts a few of the dancers in the show in underwear doing some of their wall acrobatics over Scott - the flyers were handed back to me. The folks at the powwow interpreted the title and the scantily clad men as a show that wasn't for men; namely homoerotic. <br /><br />---break---<br /><br />I'm finding it hard to respond to the above notes for they seem to create a homo-exclusive conversation as means to discuss a piece that "supposedly" excluded them as audience members. Not being homosexual I don't view the piece through a lens that would necessitate a homosexual or even a homoerotic reading of the piece. Thus, I feel this may discredit my opinion in some eyes and my babblings might be all for naught. However, I do want to point out an injustice in requiring a dance piece of 8 men to delve into the intricacies of queer culture. Especially, if it is uncertain whether the majority of the men in the piece identify as queer or not. Well, uncertain for those not asking the question it seems; if we go with the definition of “straight” or not-queer from the above responses (“sporty dudes”, “boy roughhousing, swordfighting and tumbling”, “the stunts”) then everyone in the piece is definitely straight. <br /><br />I believe that 8 men on stage (underwear clad or not) necessitating a queer perspective generates the same alienating mentality that keeps “straight” men out of classes that teach the more Western derived dance forms (jazz, ballet, modern) and even out of classes that teach what we now term: the “fine” arts. That somehow because these men are in the arts, and they are “dancing” they should inevitably be dealing with queer issues. I think this mentality disallows men to express whatever it is the want to express and create whatever it is they need to create. <br /><br />So, I call to question what I'm terming as the interdiction of the homosexual audience member in that the alienation from the piece comes from atavistic personal experiences with what the above responses are sculpting as masculine. (masculine in some reason being in counterpoint to queer). <br /><br />What I do not want to devalue is a personal experience while viewing the piece. <br />I believe the question: “Why do men respond to certain forms of touch and interactions with concomitant stunts and awkward comments or jokes?” is a great one to ask about the piece. Not seeing it as a jab or a devaluation the homosexual experience, but that somehow even today we haven't been able to create a space for sexual cross-culturalism. <br /><br />Meaning, in an age where people are acknowledging school systems as progressing towards a feminine style of education (processual vs production based), we see anything in favor of a non-queer perspective as anti-queer. Shouldn't we be able to discuss both sides of the coin without negating the other? Can we depict men crying, fighting, feeling awkward, doing great stunts and first see them as men and not straight men or men who oppress or exclude?conflophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17995798351154352968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-575800415548801005.post-42716715464739935522009-06-08T01:15:29.888-07:002009-06-08T01:15:29.888-07:00Thanks, for articulating the "playful engagem...Thanks, for articulating the "playful engagement of masculine cliches, anxieties and interventions" in Scott's show. I've been trying to explain this to some people, but your criticism was much more elegant in that it validates and appreciates while still making the critical point.<br /><br />I left the show feeling challenged by the last piece...as if I was excluded or something and was unable to respond because they were all able to do amazing tricks to keep me quiet (or to keep me distracted by my own ooh and aah reactions). It reminded me of feelings growing up of failing to feel/act/think/be like a "regular guy/bro/dude/boy." And yes, the pendulum swing from tender and possibly homoerotic to boy roughhousing, swordfighting and tumbling is a great metaphor. <br /><br />You closed with brief mention of wanting the underwear to have happened earlier. I noticed that as soon as the clothes came off and before I could project anything onto this statement/image, they immediately began the big acrobatics--taking over the space leaving no room to think of the different meanings/emotions/statements a bunch of guys in their underwear could mean. It was as if the stunts allowed them to undress together yet definitely still be validated as straight men--the stunts exploding immediately after seemed to stamp them as undeniably Not Queer. <br /><br />The closing/fading image of the pack of sweaty, almost-naked men converging in towards each other felt ambiguously sexual and combative (as opposed to tender or something else). If some of this ambiguity was sexual then I feel teased, slightly mocked and disappointed because the entire piece always veered directly away from sex and GAY--now at the end do they bring it up and not explore it. <br /><br />I left the show asking myself, “am I trying to force a queer perspective or my own queer interests (for exploration of certain themes) on this work? Maybe the explorations of this piece weren’t meant for me. I’m sure some of the work that I do regarding masculinity and "what men want" might alienate a straight male audience.” However, because I was left wanting so much for a queer exploration/sensibility to be acknowledged (since the possibility for its exploration seemed always present but never touched), the small gesture of ambiguity at the end felt inadequate and underdeveloped. (It's not that they have to be/act queer at all, but the lack of any recognition/awareness of this element felt awkward)<br /><br />Those are some reactions to the piece and to your review. I should say that I did enjoy many things about the show such as the care I felt the dancers had for each other, the graceful flying, etc; however, here I'm just reacting to these specific aspects of dealing with masculinity in performance.<br /><br />Ciao<br /><br />-JorgeJorge Rodolfo De Hoyos Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03411927693440828387noreply@blogger.com