Oct 11 2012
Purely Inspirational
http://www.timelapsedance.com
Before, when I thought of dance, I automatically thought of ballets, hip hop dances and traditional dances from each countries. When someone would approach to me and ask of what I felt about modern dance I would automatically think of people trying to convey some abstract idea with their bodies making funny movements and it would just look odd and hilarious to me. It seemed to lack that authority and prestige of that of ballet or other traditional forms of dance. But then I was immediately mesmerized as Jody Sperling introduced us to the world of Loïe Fuller.
From the video clips I could see that hers and, of course, Jody Sperling’s dance were exquisite but what was more fascinating was that with some bold attempts and “think-outside-the-box” mindset you could create and initiate a whole new field. Become expert of your own artistic area. Obviously the type of dancing and costume were slight modifications from what already existed. Quite frankly, as I was watching her videos I couldn’t stop thinking of the resemblances to some Korean traditional dance, using long white silky materials and choreographing movements inspired from that of animals and nature.
The main difference would be the dynamics and use of light.While Korean traditional dances focus more on the subtleness within the continuous slow movements, Loie Fuller takes full advantage of the rapid dynamic movements. I really admired Loie Fuller’s use of light, especially concerning her time era, which film making and stage directing was not much developed. But I have to say, the coloring process in the old films could have been done with more sophistication. It was so funny how the coloring were so rough and 2 dimensional that it looked like a coloring work of a two year old. But I guess it shows how difficult it was at that point.
Through out the lecture I feel like I learned so much, especially hearing about the financial difficulties artists face, I realized there’s a shade behind every light no matter how glamourous they seem. What was really interesting though, was how Jody Sperling came to realize her path. Her story of how she became involved in Loie Fuller and her work (starting from a single picture and a note from a colleague) really inspired me and made me realize sometimes you have to wait for the right moment. Lately, I have been stressed out with choosing my career path and realizing what I want to do with my life but stories like hers really helped me in so many ways.
The picture you choose for your post is absolutely amazing. I thought it was a flower at first but it was actually the dancer and her outfit. I think it’s really great that you actually looked up other dances that somewhat are similar to Loie Fuller’s type of dance.
I love how you compared Fuller’s Sperling’s dancing to other forms you know about. I watched the dances you posted and I see similarities but also differences. Which do you like better? It seems that Fuller is more exciting and dynamic in many aspects. Do you think they could have originated from the same time / place, maybe a long time ago?
I find it very interesting how you were able to compare this to traditional Korean dances. Was it the clothes or dance patterns which made you think of them? I am also surprised by how hard she said it was to make it as an artist while at the same time impressed that she was able to follow her dream. Sperling’s example is definitely one worth following