Observing dance as an embedded critic has brought home how you cannot separate body, mind, and emotions. We think and feel through our bodies and our emotions and thinking are not separate. We cannot control how we feel or even our thoughts. We can acknowledge them and not let us be overwhelmed by them.
"...dance is a gift of one’s way of expressing oneself through movement. It makes one vulnerable. It makes one risk judgment and rejection; yet all giving is thus. A soulful gift is the giving of oneself with no expectation of reciprocity." (more)
Dance is personal. It is your muscles, your injuries, your sweat, your discipline, and your imagination. Professional dance is not just technique, physical ability, and rhythmic sense; it is the dancer’s personality, which is in their bodies and in their minds...(more)
"If you want to get an inkling of what contemporary dance is, you need to watch dancers not dancing." (more)
"I close my eyes and feel the space around me. I feel my feet on the floor, the walls, and people near me. I realise I only become aware of space when I encounter an obstacle, when it is unfamiliar to me, or when it is redesigned in a new way. I often forget about my body too. I am reminded of it when I make a physical effort, feel pain, or trip over something. Dancers are more ‘bodily-minded’." (more)
