I’ve been recording some podcasts for Ballet For Men this weekend, and I got to talk with some great friends and dancers about dance and about how the dance community has benefited them. It got me really thinking about dance and community and how the two work together.
We all belong to multiple communities. Nobody is just a dancer. At the same time we subscribe to multiple communities within dance. I feel that there are three general ways that I look at dance and community. One is the community that I have built with my fellow dancers, the ones that I dance with everyday. Another is the broader community of dancers, maybe ones that I see around in other performances, festivals, or even talk to online. Third, I think that there is also a form of community between dancers and non-dancers, the dance community, and people who may not subscribe to the dance community. I feel that as dancers, we can make our dance experience even greater through valuing these communities and the role we play in them.
I really noticed a sense of community grow between dancers as I continued to study ballet. It is an empowering feeling to grow into a community that shares similar interests. Some of my closest friends now, are the dancers that I continually dance with. Dance is an intense study, and when a lot of people focus intently on similar interests, bonds grow.
This sense of community was extremely powerful for me, especially since I was somewhat community-deprived at the time I started taking dance. I was working as a merchant mariner, on cargo ships traveling around the world until I decided to go back to school. The sailor life was quite solitary for me, and did not have a strong consistent community. Getting involved in the local dance community, after being short of a strong community, really showed me how powerful it can be to a person to have community. To say the least, I felt content, happy, and involved.
The dance community still exists on a larger, less local scale as well. This weekend I went and attended a performance by a Seattle company and took part in a master class. I went in a big group of my close community of dancers, and it was enjoyable to combine my smaller community with the larger community. Watching the performance I saw other dancers from other companies that I had recognized, and it was nice to see more people that share similar interests.
The same is true when I attend dance festivals. It is always fun to see people who devote just as much of their life to something you do, but that you never really see. It is fun to talk to them and hear their experiences. On an even larger scale this happens. Most of my communication with the much broader, global dance community occurs through the internet. Through other dancers’ sites, twitter, facebook, etc, and BalletForMen.com, we can all connect, even if we never get to dance together. This is very strong, very powerful, and if you are reading this, you probably have a sense of this community. It is one of my main intentions on BalletForMen.com to provide access to greater community, and encourage men and women to get involved in their local community.
I have been intentionally portraying these ideas of dance communities from small scale to large scale, similar to to the way a grass-roots movement takes shape. I think a lot of great things happen from the bottom up, from small groups of interested people, turning into large groups of interested people. I by no means hide the hope that the general belief that ballet is only for girls will give way, and I hope that the small things that I do locally will build with larger communities to make dance almost universally acceptable for guys.
One criticism I have for communities, is that they often tend to stop short. Sometimes they become exclusive. It seems that a grass-roots movement sometimes reaches a point where the community is comfortable, but not everyone has been given access. This is stopping too early. That is why I believe that our sense of dance community should continue to grow and include even people who don’t dance. It should include everyone. After all, that is who we perform for, that is who we often dance for. It is not just for ourselves.
This is not a reprimand of what anyone in the dance community has been doing, it is more a praise. Dance has been building a great community, and it continues to grow. We can learn from this ability to grow a strong community, and transfer that to beyond dance, hopefully creating an equitable global community.
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What a wonderful post! I totally agree with you, and as a former dancer who now writes about dance and teaches it, I too cherish the sense of community–and embrace the larger community of non-dancers. You are so right…many of them are who we dance for. They are the ones who appreciate the magic we create on stage.
Although you and I have never met–through the web we have shared a good deal thus far, and I am sure will continue to do so. I’m glad you are out there doing what you do!
Nicely thought out and beautifully put. One of the hardest things about teaching in the public schools (as I do) is loss of the dance community (for lack of time and contact). There are ways I find other dancers & spend time with them — conferences & workshops & concerts — but it can feel rather isolating to be a dancer/educator in public education. There’s a viable community among educators in general, of course, which is good, but it’s not quite as deep and personal as the community that grows amongst dancers (and non-dancers around dance). Thanks for thinking things through, and for the sake of my dancers who are boys, your success at growing the dance community for boys can’t come any too soon!
Very true Meg. I felt quite isolated when I worked in a school setting. Not that everyone isn’t wonderful–it just isn’t the same as being in a dance community. Great point.
And yes–I too am thrilled that this dance community for boys/men is doing so very well!