As Ms Jody Sperling began her presentation to the group of thirty or so freshman, there was certain inquisitiveness as to what she would be describing and how she would “show” the audience what was being described.
Of course, there was the initial introduction. She described her educational background (BA from Wesleyan ‘92 and MA from NYU ’96. She described her interest in dance, choreography, and art history. There was the description of the dances she has been a part of, choreographed, and studied. However, it was shocking to see that the main point of her discussion was not her career or her awards, but rather her interest in one of the greats in dance history, Loie Fuller.
When it came to Fuller, the audience could observe the passion and the knowledge Jody Sperling spoke. The knowledge was expected. The passion however was above and beyond what was expected. She provided a full biography of Loie Fuller, along with a slideshow of her life. To show the audience the prominence of dancers such as Loie Fuller, Ms Sperling asked a question that definitely sparked some interest. She asked whether or anyone watched Friends, the popular sitcom. After most of the class raised its hands, she went on to explain how one of the rooms in the show had a poster of Loie Fuller in it. This shows how artistic culture has permeated today’s pop culture,
At one point, there was a picture which showed Fuller dressed as a man, during her childhood. According to Ms Sperling, Loie Fuller had to constantly contend with gender discrimination and performance houses not meeting her requests as a performer. The discovery of the serpentine dance was “revolutionary”. She commented on how different this performance type was than what Fuller did later in her career and spoke about Fuller with extreme reverence, at one point calling her a “fearless innovator” and revealing performing the serpentine dance was a great moment for her, professionally and personally. Here is one of her renditions of the dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-igiPhmpSl0 (Courtesy Joyce Theater)
Ms Sperling went into great detail into the time transcending “Serpentine Dance” originally performed by Fuller. She described the dance as “vibrant” and “multi-layered”. Some of the (what seemed like) ancient images she showed were mesmerizing, as the movements, even when still, had a certain fluidity not seen in many other dance forms. The Serpentine Dance, as described, is performed with many layers of skirt clothing and constant movement. A fact that definitely captured attention was when she mentioned the amount of upper body strength needed to perform this dance. She spoke of how the elbows never come below the shoulders, and how people need to be pretty strong to do this.This proved how much talent and strength this beautiful form of dance really requires.
It must be ensured that these types of arts have to be preserved. In a shocking statement, Ms Sperling stated that Believe it or not, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs actually gives out millions more than the National Endowment for the Arts. She said the NYFA provides at times millions more than the NEA. Even though New York City is one of the most culturally and artistically prominent places in the world, there is no reason it should be outdoing the government of a country that stands for diversity and acceptance of different cultures. Companies such as Time Lapse Dance Company, founded by Sperling in 2000, have trouble competing with others for these funds. Even though it may not be economically feasible at this time for the government at this time, it must go higher on the priority list. Sure, science and technology are extremely important in their own regards, but this type of dance can be considered both an art and a science, making it that much more advantageous for today’s youth to learn about. Loie Fuller clearly influenced many talented dancers and choreographers such as Jody Sperling, and they need support from people like us and required funding in order to continue past traditions of cultural advancement.
Credit: Time Lapse Dance Company and Julie Lemberger
