Friday, February 8, 2008
Emotion and Performance
Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fontaine were a famous ballet partnership. Margot was quite a bit older than Rudolf. Her legs never went very high, but it was their emotional connection to one another that translated into great performances.
It's important to remember that we study ballet or any performance art in order to bring an inner experience forward through our dancing. Emotions and images are carried through the body into space. Remember to connect to your emotional state whenever possible.
Can you feel a sense of connection between Rudolf and Margot? How was your experience in class on Wednesday as we worked to connect different emotions and elements to our dancing?
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31 comments:
Sometimes it's easy to forget about connecting to that emotional side with the intention of focusing better upon our outward performance. Ironically, this connection doesn't distract, it only brings out these beautiful subtlies that help fudge the lines of technique and help it become dancing. I was amazed at how much easier our slow piece became when I allowed myself to just let go a little.
I have always connected dance performance and emotion, and dance and emotion when I am social dancing or working on choreography, yet it has only been recently that I have made connecting emotion and dancing a focus as an exercise - realizing the importance of feeling movement and exploring emotional sensations while training. It's amazing how my training has progressed since incorporating a genuine, non-contrived connection to emotion. My inner critic has subsided immensely since doing so, enabling freedom to grow as a dancer, seeing each moment in training as not only a physical exercise but as creative as well.
I must also say that I usually perceive emotional expression to exist in the upper body - arms, hands, torso, spine, head, face. I think one reason I have difficulty in many of the lower body movements is because I don't feel an emotional connection to movements executed by the legs and feet. While watching the video, I feel it is a little hard to sense the connection between the two dancers at times, partly because the camera is so far away from their faces. I believe their upper bodies to certainly be emotive, but I have a hard time grasping emotional qualities when they are focused on legs or spins - I guess it just feels so technical at that point. But perhaps I should explore why it is I feel such an emotional disconnect to the legs and feet..... and maybe if I developed an emotional connection to my legs and feet, I'd spare myself from my leg and feet injuries/problems/pain!!!! Hmmmmm - very interesting. : )
The connection between Rudolf and Margot is unbelievable. A relationship like that is something that only comes after years and years of work. They dance perfectly together. The intensity of Rudolf is equally matched by Margot. During the last number it was so intriguing to watch them sort of battle for each other. They switch who is dancing and who is observing which makes for a very interesting performance. Then finally they come together at the end for a moving performance.
Watching Margot dance alone I was entranced by her feet. It really makes me want to learn how to dance in pointe shoes.
I went to utube and watched several videos of Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fontaine, and their connection is amazing. I especially loved the Romeo and Juliet video. Nureyev is simply amazing in all ways. Fontaine isn't as flexible as some dancers, but she is a master at connecting emotionally. Her facial expressions, head inclinations, and arm movements are captivating. There is one part of the piece where they entwine their arms and lean into each other that the emotion of their love for each other comes through completely. Last week, I went and say Romeo and Juliet at the PNB, so it was especially interesting to see this different interpretation.
In class, I am still learning so many new techniques that I have a hard time thinking about emotions. I know how important the emotional connection is to making a great dancer, so I will keep practicing my technique so it becomes more natural to me and I can connect better emotionally. I feel I connect better emotionally with my technique in the improvisational work we do. That is one reason I love this ballet class.
I believe that emotion is always influencing movement. Even a lack of emotion gives movement a particular quality (which may or may not be engaging to onlookers). But, when I dance based on my emotions, I find that it is a much more powerful and engaging experience for me. This experience will, of course, translate to an audience.
Margot Fontaine and Rudolf Nureyev's connection is rather refreshing. It is always a disappointment to see a pas de deux in which the couple is totally engaged in their own emotions but hardly recognizes the emotions in which they share.
I realized enjoyed the fact that Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fontaine had a such a wonderful dancing connection - It was especially interesting to note how Margot used her arms so much in her expression and emotional portrayal.
I like what Heather said about how it's also important to be emotionally connected to the excersizes in ballet as well as the dance routines. I think this is an important concept because, if we practice movements without emotional connection or with a constant fear and frenzy about what we are doing wrong, that is what our actual dancing will end up looking like.
From my personal experiance, i feel sometimes that i have hard time to connect the dance and the emotion together because while i was dance, i have to think about the movement that i just learned. I guess another words i can said is because i am "unfmailiar" with the dance piece that learned. I think if i am in the situation that i am familiar with the dance, i guess i can learned easily to connect the emotion into dance.
I think that somtimes when I dance ballet I focus so much on the technical aspects of dancing that I forget to just feel the music and the moves. Emotion makes any form of dancing stronger, and in Wednesday when we focused on the emotion of the dancing rather than the steps it felt so much more natural and so much more elegant.
Margot and Rudolf definately have a really great chemistry that comes through when they are dancing. Watching them dance together was so intense because you could feel the emotion that they were feeling. I hope to some day be able to put that amount of emotion into my ballet.
I can definitely feel a sense of connection between Rudolf and Margot. They dance beautifully together and their connection really shows in how easily they move together. Like Louis pointed out, her legs really don't go up that high, but the fact that they involve so much emotion in their dancing makes it beautiful.
Here are the notes I took while observing Friday's class:
When doing our warm-up stretches, remember to use up all of the counts and really allow yourself to feel the stretch. Also, remember to really role through your head, neck, and spine when rolling up and down (Louis talked about this towards the end of class).
When doing pilates exercises, remember to focus on using your center/core muscles to do the exercises.
Everyone seemed to do a really good job of keeping their hips turned under while doing developpes at the barre towards the end of class!
I enjoyed watching both of them dance because they have great connection together and express great emotions. This what makes it so beautiful to watch.
when we dance, we should express emotions, that is what dancing to me. you show emotions. i feel that even if you have great technique, "legs high and all" but without emotion, your dance will lack something. so i guess i should not get too caught up in counting or getting the steps right until i forget to express emotions.
her legs may not go very high but she extends her energy though her limbs so vibrantly that her beautiful ballet lines are always there.
-erika bergman
There's definitely a connection between them. I think it's especially visible when she goes to spin in front of him, he is always there behind her as support and you can tell she knows that.
Emotion is definitely important in connection to dancing. In high school I was on a drill team and 1/3 of our score was based on showmanship (a large part of which was smiling). It's crazy how doing the same movement with a different expression (eg: sad vs. happy) can change the whole feeling of it.
Yes, you could definitely see how these two really did have an emotional connection that really added to their performance as a whole. This kind of emotional connection to another dancer or in response to a certain dance piece really gives you the opportunity to make it your own. The dance as a whole becomes more smooth and looks like it is truly being enjoyed rather than painfully executed. This was easily observable last week when we redid the exercise and really tried to dance the piece rather than perfectly master the individual moves. That thought process really helped me inprove the exercise and enjoy it a lot more too. It is easy to see, when watching clips of professionals, that this is exactly what they do. Over the weekend I got to see PNB's Romeo and Juliette downtown. It was incredible and this same kind of dancing was apparent especially in the solos where immense emotion was visible even from the balcony! :)
The connection between Rudolf and Margot transcends anything that takes place on the stage. Neither one's phenomenal dancing ability out does the other since they complement each other so much. Watching them together so engaging because you can feel the emotion that they express while they are dancing.
While dancing in the studio, it is hard to remember about the emotion behind which all dancing is based on. However, when asked to connect different emotions and elements to our dancing, your own personality appears and you finally begin expressing yourself completely.
I can most certainly see the reasoning behind the duo's long history. It is apparent that they have a distinct knowledge of one another's movements and overall emotional portrayal. In order to emit such strong emotions it is very important to be able to work as a team, and it is clear that they are working as a whole to create such a outcome. There are times were each line on the ballerina's body is being mirrored and mimicked by her partner. Overall, in order to be a successful dancer you must be able to show emotion through movement. One must understand the musicality of the chosen music and consequently what movements correspond to the portrayed emotions.
Rudolf and Margot definitely have a connection when they're dancing. There movements are very much together and they do their lifts with such ease and grace. A lot of trust goes into doing that. Even though she may not be the most flexible ballerina, you want to watch her because she enjoys dancing so much. Most of the time, it's more fun to watch someone who's not necessarily the best, but enjoys what they do, than to watch someone who's exceptionally talented and hates using their talent.
In class when we worked on connecting to different emotions, dancing felt different. Instead of worrying about doing everything perfectly, I thought about how the movements and music felt together and how I could best express emotion in my dancing. I think I may have been more fun to watch when I was concentrating on emotion, instead of perfecting each tiny step.
This was such a beautiful performance and I am always glad to see dancers who really love dancing and show it. It is one thing to love what you are doing, but if one falls in love with it and shows that, then people see that and there is something wonderful about actually sharing your love for dance. It is silly to keep that love to yourself because it is something so awesome that it is mean to deny others your love.
The connection between Rudolf and Margot is definitely visible. You can tell how much trust there is between the two of them and how well they work together as a team. It's also apparent how much they love what they're doing.
Connecting different emotions to the exercises was a really cool experience. It was fun to think about things like "how would a spider do a rond de jambe?" It also helped me to relax a lot more. When I start focusing on the feeling of the movement rather than the technical aspects, I find that there is a lot more fluidity to my dancing. I'm not just a robot moving my limbs around. And then, even when I mess up, it doesn't seem like as big of a deal.
I am just impressed by how emotion makes them so elegant. Showing technique in performance without emotion is possible, but never moves audience. It is emotional expression that makes dancing totally different from other body activities like sports, since dancing can enhance unlimited possibility by connection to the emotion.
I love watching dance when the emotion between the performers is so apparent that it's projected out into the audience. That's when you know that they are a true performer.
I really like it in class when you make us do things with our eyes closed because then we aren't worried about everything else and we can just feel how it feels to dance. I also really like how you give us a scenario or a role to play and then we do the combination again. I feel like it really helps me and it's fun as well. :)
i think that both dancers show extreme emotions. Usually when i think of emotions i associate it with the face but in this dance i think its through the arms. The arms are so big and just full of meaning. I think the dancers have a very good chemistry together. I also think that both are amazing dancers!! for me its hard to show emotion when i am so focused on getting the moves down but when i feel more confident in the moves emotion just seems to come out easier.
There are moments in this piece that highlight a definite connection between Rudolf and Margot. It makes the piece much more interesting.
On a side note, the jumps that Rudolf does in his solo piece where his legs tuck under and he lands down on one knee are sweet.
It is nice to put emotions into dance - it makes the piece feel more natural and make more sense.
I think the performance was authentic and rich with this internal acknowledgment of embodying the feelings of the qualites of the movement. I thought of applying this idea in class. I am thankful that there is a time set in class to acknowledge the qualities of the pictures we are creating while dancing because there is more rom to invest sheer emotion and authentic feeling to delivering the assigned steps. I love applyig emotion to movement because there is so much more of a rich and engaging expereince.
Ashley Howisey
There is definitely a connection between Rudolf and Margot. I did notice that her legs were not as high as some of the other professional ballet dancers in the previous videos but thats not the most important thing. Adding emotions into the movements we do makes it so much more suprior and beautiful than compared to an dancing without expressing and emotions, even if we can't get our legs as high as we want them to go. Connecting all the different emotions and elements into our dancing adds character to what we do but I sometimes find it really easy to forget that and place more emphasis on getting the movements right instead...bad habit i guess:)
i feel like lately i have been connecting more emotionally. i have recently had dreams where my feet are super quick and my legs have no trouble kicking high into the air. hopefully all this dreaming will translate to the dance floor.
It probably would be extremely cool to have super flexible legs that can go way up high in the sky.. but without the emotion that connects your body and mind to the particular piece, what would all that flexibility do? Probably not too much.
As a beginner with minimal experience with ballet, I still feel like a better dancer when I allow my emotions to help guide my movements to its full potential.
For me, I sometimes forget that dancing projects an emotion. When I don't try to connect my emotions to the dance it doesn't seem to to the performance justice. When I think about what emotion I want to give than my body lets go and the piece feels a lot more comfortable.
Having an idea of an emotion drastically changes your dancing. Dancing is tied to tightly to intention and to me it is amazing how you can dance the exact same choreography with a different emotion, which changes the intention of the movement and the product is completly different if you were to use two different types of emotions. Especially in a technique class I think it is so easy to overlook the power of emotion. Even with technique some sort of emotion must drive your movements or you will never move past practicing combinations at the barre.
In the past I have found it difficult to connect with the emotion of a piece until I feel like I can stop focusing on the moves themselves. But since starting this class, I've gotten a lot better at just enjoying dancing, and not trying to be such a perfectionist. When I'm doing a jete, instead of focusing 100% of my energy on making sure that every detail of my position is perfect (is my toe pointed? are my hips in line?), I make sure to take a moment to enjoy the feeling of the jump. Hey, dancing is supposed to be fun, right Louis?
Ballet is a very much like theatre, and so much harder! To convey the emotions one must do the movements in a such a way that they speak for themselves and we can know the leg of someone who is in love versus the leg of someone who is melancholy.
The sense of connection between these two dancers shows trust and strength and mutual respect that I'm sure other partnerships could never have.
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