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wiliqueen at her journal:
South Africa's Mamela Nyamza on Superstars Of Dance performs an extremely non-standard 'Dying Swan':
My own reaction was, "Well, that's not proper ballet - it's not pure enough - it's not graceful and conventionally elegant enough!" And then I realised I was watching, not ballet, but a woman showing a dying swan in dance - not just the pretty, but the ugly, the death throes, the inelegance and wastefulness of death. That it was a more gritty relating of a transition our society mostly glosses over - from life to death.
It's not standard dance. But it was a brilliant display of body movement under the complete control of an artist, not showing a "ballet interpretation of dying swan" but showing "a representation of dying swan with reference to balletic interpretation".
Mamela was always utterly and totally in control of the dance. It was all calculated: there for a reason, to make a point, to give an impression. And while my first impression was to cringe, once I got past the fact that "This is ballet! It should be graceful and elegant and technically pure!" I was really really impressed.
Interestingly,wiliqueen says the judges lambasted her for this performance.
So does this count as "You can be noble savages or sexualised objects of desire, thugs, and wise sages, but don't touch the white culture"?
wiliqueen at her journal:South Africa's Mamela Nyamza on Superstars Of Dance performs an extremely non-standard 'Dying Swan':
My own reaction was, "Well, that's not proper ballet - it's not pure enough - it's not graceful and conventionally elegant enough!" And then I realised I was watching, not ballet, but a woman showing a dying swan in dance - not just the pretty, but the ugly, the death throes, the inelegance and wastefulness of death. That it was a more gritty relating of a transition our society mostly glosses over - from life to death.
It's not standard dance. But it was a brilliant display of body movement under the complete control of an artist, not showing a "ballet interpretation of dying swan" but showing "a representation of dying swan with reference to balletic interpretation".
Mamela was always utterly and totally in control of the dance. It was all calculated: there for a reason, to make a point, to give an impression. And while my first impression was to cringe, once I got past the fact that "This is ballet! It should be graceful and elegant and technically pure!" I was really really impressed.
Interestingly,
wiliqueen says the judges lambasted her for this performance.So does this count as "You can be noble savages or sexualised objects of desire, thugs, and wise sages, but don't touch the white culture"?
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I don't really know what kind of show it is and what kind of professinalism they are used to (if all are awesome or whether she is head above shoulders above everyone) so to me 8 didn't feel like a bad score unless/until I began to wonder if that meant that she is not advancing? I'm a bit confused because in the end it said that South Africa now is in second place?
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- Ok, I have no idea what else he did, but I can't believe that American guy even got into the top 3.
- Similarly, wow, I can't believe that they genuinely had non-professionals grade two kathak dancers against each other. I know next to nothing about kathak *except* that it is pretty much impossible to judge correctly if you don't have the background because there is so much technique and symbolism involved.
Anyway, thanks for linking the clip, very gorgeous. I'm glad I saw it. Compared to what the others were performing, maybe it was just too modern and sophisticated/original for the show.
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Although it didn't help that it was kicked off by the Argentinean judge's very first words being "I'm used to..." And that being the only reason she articulated for awarding a lower score than in the previous round.
Similarly, wow, I can't believe that they genuinely had non-professionals grade two kathak dancers against each other
The judging overall was mostly a joke. Made more so by the abstention when their compatriots performed -- yes, it avoided favoritism, but it also meant that the judge most likely to be knowledgeable in a given idiom wasn't judging it. It really irked me that it had to be a competition in the first place -- it just shoehorned in fake drama and wasted time that could have been spent watching more dance! But that's US networks for you. :-P
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I think Mamela is right in saying she will be remembered.
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I think, that if she'd worn a costume similar to what she'd had on fr her solo dance in week 1, she would have done better in terms of scores for the judges.
Watching the faces of audience members that make it on camera is illuminating.
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http://www.move1524.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19:hatch&catid=10:current-performances&Itemid=22
http://www.mambagirl.com/article.asp?artid=1871
If she had a public figure page on Facebook, I'd fan it in a heartbeat, but she just has a regular member profile.
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But it's not as much the costume as the subject matter; her performance was a critique of Western dance tropes in addition to being a stunning performance.
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Judging for the most part was a joke all around. You had the South African judge constantly harping on the men in the partner dances saying they weren't 'manly' enough. At least one female soloist was judged on the sole fact that she had a great smile and was wearing next to nothing while she...danced.
The South African soloist as well as the two soloists representing India to my mind were the best of the lot.
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The 'brave' comment (US judge?) was just patronising though. I rank that with the people who tell me that at least once a week because I'm disabled. I confess I actually yelled "fuck you" at the monitor when he said that. Of all the white, heteronormative, racist, ableist bullshit... I forgot that existing outside of the accepted social norm constitutes courage for daring to be as such. The only thing it makes me is full of rage...
I think the big problem in judging this was that a lot of the judges were judging it on its merits against the 'accepted' form of Dying Swan - I think this is totally wrong personally. You should be judging what you see - plain and simple. I pretty much agree with your assessment of it as a piece. I think it was awesome.
I do wonder if the assessment would have been different had she not chosen to wear the traditional ballet attire - though I think that added to the impact of the piece.
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Clearly, I should never watch this show. It's well-nigh impossible for experts from one folk form to critique another folk form without extensive experience watching and performing it. One simply can't get a proper perspective on the individual performance, instead letting the form itself overshadow what the dancer is actually doing with it.
Don't know if I even made sense there....
Anyway, I think the best way to look at Nyamza's performance is to watch the audience: the rapt expressions, the children with dropped jaws, the genuinely enthusiastic cheering afterward. Those people can't critique the dance in terms of its style, but they can confirm that Nyamza did an incredible job as a performer. The audience's reaction is, in the end, the focus of all performing arts.
/climbs off soapbox
Deleted and moved because I can't click straight tonight...
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If the point of the competition was to dance the "perfect ballet" dying swan, then no she didn't do that, but if the point of the competition was to choriograph a dance and bring forth emotion from your movement and interpetation then she nailed that. I also think she showed what a talented dancer she is, what she did was not easy and required great strength, flexibility and control.
I didn't see the other dancers so I can't compare, but if her lower score was based mostly on the non-traditional interpetation then the judges were wrong.
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I don't really know what kind of show it is and what kind of professinalism they are used to (if all are awesome or whether she is head above shoulders above everyone) so to me 8 didn't feel like a bad score unless/until I began to wonder if that meant that she is not advancing? I'm a bit confused because in the end it said that South Africa now is in second place?
no subject
- Ok, I have no idea what else he did, but I can't believe that American guy even got into the top 3.
- Similarly, wow, I can't believe that they genuinely had non-professionals grade two kathak dancers against each other. I know next to nothing about kathak *except* that it is pretty much impossible to judge correctly if you don't have the background because there is so much technique and symbolism involved.
Anyway, thanks for linking the clip, very gorgeous. I'm glad I saw it. Compared to what the others were performing, maybe it was just too modern and sophisticated/original for the show.
no subject
Although it didn't help that it was kicked off by the Argentinean judge's very first words being "I'm used to..." And that being the only reason she articulated for awarding a lower score than in the previous round.
Similarly, wow, I can't believe that they genuinely had non-professionals grade two kathak dancers against each other
The judging overall was mostly a joke. Made more so by the abstention when their compatriots performed -- yes, it avoided favoritism, but it also meant that the judge most likely to be knowledgeable in a given idiom wasn't judging it. It really irked me that it had to be a competition in the first place -- it just shoehorned in fake drama and wasted time that could have been spent watching more dance! But that's US networks for you. :-P
no subject
I think Mamela is right in saying she will be remembered.
no subject
I think, that if she'd worn a costume similar to what she'd had on fr her solo dance in week 1, she would have done better in terms of scores for the judges.
Watching the faces of audience members that make it on camera is illuminating.
no subject
http://www.move1524.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19:hatch&catid=10:current-performances&Itemid=22
http://www.mambagirl.com/article.asp?artid=1871
If she had a public figure page on Facebook, I'd fan it in a heartbeat, but she just has a regular member profile.
no subject
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But it's not as much the costume as the subject matter; her performance was a critique of Western dance tropes in addition to being a stunning performance.
no subject
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Judging for the most part was a joke all around. You had the South African judge constantly harping on the men in the partner dances saying they weren't 'manly' enough. At least one female soloist was judged on the sole fact that she had a great smile and was wearing next to nothing while she...danced.
The South African soloist as well as the two soloists representing India to my mind were the best of the lot.
no subject
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The 'brave' comment (US judge?) was just patronising though. I rank that with the people who tell me that at least once a week because I'm disabled. I confess I actually yelled "fuck you" at the monitor when he said that. Of all the white, heteronormative, racist, ableist bullshit... I forgot that existing outside of the accepted social norm constitutes courage for daring to be as such. The only thing it makes me is full of rage...
I think the big problem in judging this was that a lot of the judges were judging it on its merits against the 'accepted' form of Dying Swan - I think this is totally wrong personally. You should be judging what you see - plain and simple. I pretty much agree with your assessment of it as a piece. I think it was awesome.
I do wonder if the assessment would have been different had she not chosen to wear the traditional ballet attire - though I think that added to the impact of the piece.
no subject
Clearly, I should never watch this show. It's well-nigh impossible for experts from one folk form to critique another folk form without extensive experience watching and performing it. One simply can't get a proper perspective on the individual performance, instead letting the form itself overshadow what the dancer is actually doing with it.
Don't know if I even made sense there....
Anyway, I think the best way to look at Nyamza's performance is to watch the audience: the rapt expressions, the children with dropped jaws, the genuinely enthusiastic cheering afterward. Those people can't critique the dance in terms of its style, but they can confirm that Nyamza did an incredible job as a performer. The audience's reaction is, in the end, the focus of all performing arts.
/climbs off soapbox
Deleted and moved because I can't click straight tonight...
no subject
If the point of the competition was to dance the "perfect ballet" dying swan, then no she didn't do that, but if the point of the competition was to choriograph a dance and bring forth emotion from your movement and interpetation then she nailed that. I also think she showed what a talented dancer she is, what she did was not easy and required great strength, flexibility and control.
I didn't see the other dancers so I can't compare, but if her lower score was based mostly on the non-traditional interpetation then the judges were wrong.
no subject