As mentioned in an article one of my classmates posted recently about the “stand-offish” impression dancers leave, it was brought to my attention that the dancers are instructed not to make any sounds whatsoever during their performance. This is to eliminate distractions and ensure that the audience is fully captured by the moment. For this reason, an article from Time Out New York grabbed my attention. The article describes how 62-year-old Canadian choreographer Paul-André Fortier performed his solo 30×30 (a 30 minute piece) in New York every day for 30 days straight. He was out dancing on the concrete, rain or shine, starting every day at noon. Fortier said that he wanted “a place where you don’t expect to see a man dancing”–one where people did not feel like they had to stay and watch the entire performance.
Here is a video clip of Fortier’s performance.
This is so unlike any dance performance that one would go to a theatre to see. The theatre prohibits distractions; Fortier practically welcomed them. I remember preparing to go to NYSSMA each year, and I can still hear my teacher telling me that I had to be super focused on playing or singing–so much so that if a bomb went off outside the room I was performing in, I would be able to carry on with the piece as if nothing had happened. A bit over the top, for sure, but I got the point. I can’t imagine how focused Fortier had to be in order to carry on with his dance performance despite so many various distractions. If it was raining, he had to go on. If he was freezing, he had to go on. If no one stopped to watch him, he had to go on with his performance! He must have had to put everything else out of his mind for the 30 minutes that he danced. Or maybe he expressed how he was feeling each day through his dance. Maybe his performance of 30×30 was different each day, depending on what was on his mind at the moment. I think that is what Fortier wanted. He wanted to do this sort of “raw” concert in New York to depict the life of a New Yorker (or other urban city dweller). And at 62 years old! It just fascinates me.
It is interesting to compare this dance with what we saw with the Parson’s Dance Project. Clearly, dancing is a young person’s game (though choreographers can continue forever!). I wonder if his dance was really the same each day? I think it is quite amazing the way dancers can memorize so many precise movements. Of course, it is clear that they are not improvising when two or more dancers do the same thing…
Seeing these dancers makes me think there is simply an infinite variety of poses, posture and movements. Fluidity, grace, precision, athleticism, etc. are all part of the modern dance movement. But it takes something extra to raise all of this to true artistry.