Confused, fascinated, and expectant are the best words I can think of for how I was feeling during the BAM performance. I was confused as to what was going on and what the artist was trying to say, fascinated by the newness of the experience of watching such an undefinable form of dance, and expectant of something to explain the piece, or at least tie it all together, at the end. One thing I did understand was that Ralph Lemmon was trying to defy form and put on something the audience had never seen and he couldn’t have done a better job of it. I am by no means familiar with dance, but I usually can recognize some moves or style within a performance I see. There was nothing recognizable on Wednesday night, except maybe a couple of motions that looked like things I would see in a wrestling or MMA match.
Because of my confusion I was fascinated. I couldn’t take my eyes of the stage in my attempts to figure out what was going on. I tried to catch every move, every word, and every subtle symbol in order to understand Ralph Lemmon’s message. The flailing, the crying, the animals, the sock and tambourine all caught my attention, but I couldn’t connect them. It seemed that the performance was a series of meaningless, disconnected pieces. I was hoping and searching for some sort of explanation.
In the end, I did not get what I expected and wanted. I’ve experience strange and confusing works of art before, but usually there has been something to make sense out of. There was nothing in Lemmon’s piece that I could figure out. However, I remained fascinated, I was sure there was something being said and couldn’t wait for an opportunity to find out. I had high hopes for the explanation I would receive in class.
Professor Profeta helped a lot. She didn’t provide concrete explanations- that would have limited the ability for the piece to provoke thought- but she did give some helpful opinions and background information. Going into the performance I did not know about Ralph Lemmon’s relationship with Asako or Walter, nor was I sure that he was talking about real people during the piece. Professor Profeta gave us more detail into Walter’s influence on Lemmon and Asako’s illness. Knowing that Lemmon was in a state of grief during the process of creating this piece helped me understand the crying and even the lack of structure. Death of a loved one can leave a person feeling as if there is nothing reliable, and a structureless dance is a great reflection of this feeling.
Professor Profeta also told us that Lemmon had been studying dance from other cultures. If the dance reminded me of anything, it would be of primal dancing. Although my lack of knowledge leaves me unable to be certain, I would not be surprised to find out that the piece was heavily influenced by some sort of tribal ritual. Also, studying other cultures can make a person more open to experimentation and less convinced that any conception of the right way of doing things is objectively true. Lemmon’s experience with foreign cultures may have left him contemptuous of the idea that a dance should have a particular style, or any style at all. Knowing that our ideas of formal dance would look ridiculous to other cultures, and vice-versa, may have left Lemmon feeling as if structure and style in dance is useless and even silly.
In the end, I cannot know what Lemmon was thinking when creating “How Can You Stay in the House All Day and Not Go Anywhere,” but I can think about potential implications. I can do my best to empathize, or at least sympathize, with the artist and think about the importance of structure.
