I fervently applaud Gottschild’s ability to so succinctly articulate the key components of the aesthetic and to moreover point out juxtapositions of ballet. The title is also very creative. On the other hand I think the decision to compare it to ballet was on the borderline of triteness.
Until reading this article I had not considered the affects of evoking the aesthetic of the cool. By silencing what is considered to be the primary center of expression, the face, the emphases is thusly diverted to the other parts of the body. This results in a heightened importance of the movements that are occurring.
With the aesthetic embracing difference and dissonance, it appears as if the dance form is more true to reality and until the development of modern dance or until its influence began to manifest itself in other styles of dance, it was the sole non-verbal moving art form with the capacity of telling stories.
Having multiple centers with their often counterbalancing tendencies having meaning, the untrained eye almost needs an interpreter to reveal what the movements denote. This article kind of made me think of African Dance as poetry and I see how dance kind of parallels literature.
An interesting thought came to mind while reading. Europeans often went abroad and misinterpreted the dance styles they saw in Africa. I wonder what Africans who had the luxury of touring European countries had to say about the dance styles they saw there. Did they misinterpret them? Did they find them lacking in technique?
I also like how Katherine Dunham was interviewed for this article.
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