BLURRED LINES

Categories at dance competitions have become very blurry in recent years. Sometimes I find myself frustrated thinking, "Are there any solid true-to-form pieces choreographed anymore?" As educators, it is our job to train the next generation, and to make sure they are knowledgeable in the distinct forms of dance knowing the difference between styles. When choreographers begin to blur the lines of dance categories, or teachers enter routines under the wrong category, we begin to confuse the future of our dance world, and different art forms can begin to die. Dancers today are the teachers and choreographers of tomorrow. Yes, there is evolution which is wonderful. Everything must grow, and change is a part of life. But evolution does mean kill; it means the gradual development of something, especially from the simple to the more complex form. There is a category and a place for everything to be appreciated. Each choreographic work just needs to stay true-to-form and/or compete under the right subject. There is also a category called "open" that is a perfect place for blends of styles.

The difference between lyrical and contemporary needs to be clearly defined in each piece at dance competitions. I know I am not alone here when I say I have even seen contemporary dances that were entered into the jazz category. I have also seen straight jazz numbers entered in musical theater. There is a big difference between these forms of dance, and sometimes it almost feels as if routines are placed in whatever category they can manage to be in so that dancers can compete the same genre multiple times. The answer may lie in teaching and/or choreographing in a more diversified range of subjects and styles so the dancer has an opportunity to grow in more than one area. Instead of having two contemporary pieces, maybe consider having one contemporary and a solid lyrical or jazz piece. This would help the dancer to be more well rounded, and also help with keeping the categories free of these "blurred lines".

I was taught that lyrical dance is a fusion of ballet and jazz choreographed to the lyrics to tell the story through movement and to express the emotion of the song. I was taught that contemporary, short for contemporary ballet, is a fusion of ballet and modern pushing the envelope and evolving the shapes to make the piece more abstract in form. Both can still express a story line and emotion, but contemporary is modern in nature and can have a more raw and pure feeling incorporated in the movement . With contemporary, sometimes it seems to be just a blend of, for lack of a better word, junk. Seeing a piece on television and trying to emulate the style, sometimes doesn't turn out to be what the choreographer or dancer was intending. As choreographers, I think that evolution and development of style is necessary, but we need to stay in the same lane, so to speak. We need to stick to a category instead of running all over the place. If the piece calls for a blend, and sometimes it is very appropriate to do so, there is a category for that called "open".

Jazz is not contemporary. They are two totally different styles. Jazz doesn't necessarily have to be "high energy and upbeat". For example, a dance to a song such as "Feeling Good" is still jazz, but it's not the fun shake-your-shimmy jazz. This is another category that sometimes seems to lose it's way. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I am so excited that I have begun to see more traditional jazz and real jazz slowly returning to the competition circuit. Hopefully in the near  future, this confusion of jazz and contemporary not be an issue, partly because judges will have the opportunity to score a jazz placed in the right category higher than a misplaced contemporary routine helping to end this trend.

Keeping the categories clear and defined helps our future teachers and choreographers understand the differences of each subject, gain appreciation for the differences, and insures the life of what we love so dearly: DANCE in all it's forms. Diversity is what makes life interesting. If we were all the same, how boring would life be? The same is true of dance. With this separation, the education of the dancers will greatly improve. If we continue to train in each distinct form and choreograph in each style individually instead of blurring the lines so much, each genre has the opportunity to evolve, grow, and challenge us in a new way. If we continue to blur the lines with the generations we are raising, what will happen to diversity? It will all become one and the same. How sad would that be? How boring would dance become? It is my personal hope that the diversity in dance will come back.

Enjoy the journey of dance. Enjoy training and dancing a variety of styles. Dance is hard work but it's also meant to be fun and entertaining. Diversity keeps the spirit and excitement alive and well.

Dance hard. Dance smart.
Meredith
thecompetitiveedgebymeredith.blogspot.com

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