The Politics of Art & Authenticity

To be honest, I wouldn’t say dance is my kind of thing. This might be because my elegance on the dance floor is similar to the elegance of a four year trying to swim for the first time. I only get up at weddings for cocktail hour (the appetizers only of course) and for the songs that have directions in the lyrics, like “The YMCA.” But this isn’t to say I can’t appreciate the art of dance. If anything, my inability to properly “shake what my momma gave me” makes me more appreciative of people like Jody Sperling,

courtesy of verrier-fashion.com

who are gifted in that category. When Sperling gave her lecture on Loie Fuller, I could tell how appreciative Sperling is of Fuller’s style. Fuller impressively was the first to use long flowing dresses and excess fabric coupled with colored lights as part of her costume. This allowed her to choreograph unique and “enveloping” performances. Though Loie Fuller isn’t a name I had heard of before, or likely will hear again, it was interesting to see how she has influenced many modern dance forms. But the best part of the lecture was learning of Sperling’s dedication to Fuller’s style– her “mish-moshed” funded ensemble’s interpretation of only Fuller-type dance– and seeing a video of them actually performing.