When I read the poem, I felt repulsed by Herbert White. Yes, it was very well written and I’m sure that’s why I felt so much emotion. However, why does the article on Frank Bidart say “Bidart’s achievement, even a tour de force, is to have made [Herbert White] human”? That’s not what I got out of the poem…
“The truth is that most poetry, even most of what is greatly prized and read today, even what has been wrested from nothingness by these heroes of mine, is destined to be forgotten. But that’s not our concern. The future will decide what it can make use of.”
After reading this, I realized that Galassi was probably a dark or pessimistic writer since he understood that writing fades away. After reading Flow, I saw that he was also very knowledgeable in his Ancient Greek stories (“Apollo” line 7, “Phoebe” line 11, the “with my arrows, my bow…” line 6). His diction is dark and gloomy while having a violent bone-cracking chill to it, like when he references suicide (2) and “coiling” “battered” and “scarred” (20, 22). I’m curious as to why he threw so many Greek references and dark words around in this poem.
Did Ellen commit suicide because she did not want to live in her body anymore or because she is mad at herself for refusing to “sit on the ground” and be well again?
“Audience tolerance for the unfit at costly professional dances is unlikely.” This seems to be referring to the body type and body tone of the dancer. However, if the author continually says that dance is a combination of body as well as mind and spirit, why does it matter if they are unfit? Isn’t it enough that they perform the piece with the feeling that it was meant to be performed with?
From 186-7, the author talks about the difference between a dancer and a dance artist and how technique is the foundation for any sort of art. Since both expression and technique can be viewed subjectively, can any dance, like other visual arts, be considered art? Where is it a body movement to a dance to “true” art? Where are the lines and who draws them?
According to the author, there are many things that a dancer should do but should these things be used to rate the dancer? If a dancer isn’t able to perform a move with the precision the viewer is expecting, does that have to mean that the dancer didn’t work hard enough or isn’t disciplined enough to perform the move to perfection? (190-191) Also, if repetition is “key to unifying a work in time,” how would a choreographer know how much repetition is acceptable before the performance becomes boring? (210)
The passage says that the rondo form of dance has the performance start at, and later return to, a “home” section. This home section – is it the central idea behind the dance? Does the home section essentially define and set the outline for the remainder of the dance, like a thesis sentence for an essay or the plotline of a movie? Is this set in stone, or can the “story” of the dance twist and turn as the choreographer wishes? In the case of very long dances, can the home section be neglected for a long period of time and still retain the same impact?
People can understand the meanings behind visual arts, such as paintings, by directly observing objects they see. But at the beginning of the Chapter fourteenth, the author admits that he once misinterpreted the meaning behind a dance (189). And also, at the end of the Chapter fifteenth, the author also points out that in order to understand the real meaning behind a dance, people should “watch a great deal of dance (216)”. So compared with visual arts, are dances more difficult to be understood?
In the beginning of Chapter fifteen it says that “the dancer is the dance- literally the embodiment of choreography- it is easy to mistake the dancer for the choreographer (although sometimes she or he is). ” At the end of the chapter, it says that “The only way to master being able to separate the choreography from the performance is to watch a great deal of dance”.
I’m confused as to where the line is that separates the two. The chapter tries to explain it by talking about choreography and form but is there a real difference or is it just a fine line? Is it always so or does it vary from dance to dance?
