In the National Dance Forum 2013, the question on everybody’s lips is “why dance?” In response, Dancehouse Diary (Issue 4) has asked four dancers/choreographers for their ideas and observations on the issue. Martin del Amo creates a striking response:
“…Make no mistake, there is a lot to be said against it. It’s hard, it doesn’t get easier, it’s highly competitive, you don’t make any money from it, recognition is rate, promotion even rarer, it is not exactly a popular art form, it struggles to reach audiences, sustainability is difficult, longevity nearly impossible. Dance is not for the faint-hearted and the idea of dedicating one’s life to it must sound most unappealing to them.
But for those who feel adventurous, endlessly curious, prepared to challenge themselves on an ongoing basis, develop new models of how to communicate with people, discover alternative ways of being in the world, putting their body and their entire being on the line all the time – for those, and it’s certainly true for myself the answer to the question Why Dance? Will just simple be Why Not? Only to add, empathetically: Why Not Dance!”
Why not indeed.
You know the thing that keeps me going? Apart from my own experience of the artform, I love engaging with other dancers and creatives. The endless stimulation is exciting, challenging, rewarding. The lens that is created by these people sees life as a series of amazing things – and I count myself lucky when I’m numbered among them…
Just trawling Facebook, consider some of the perspectives from my friends and colleagues:
[Dance Massive] hatching! LOL – Natalie Abbot
Work: Prayers in the Streetlight – Gareth Hart as part of Canberra’s You Are Here festival. An extension of a work I witnessed when we were studying together? An intimate connection of personal experience and reflection. [photo: Sarah Walker]
Benjamin Hancock