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Elizabeth Venable-- preliminary champion, sometime modern choreographer and theorist, botanist, historian, indie girl, vegetarian, lover of ideals, reality, and fiction. Radical feminist, libertarian socialist, journalist, pansyette.
Wish List/Manifesto
I would like to see kinesiological studies of Irish dance movement. We cannot progress and develop as quickly as we have been doing in the past 25 years without the aide of scientific analysis. It simply wouldn't be sane. I want safe movment, and more rational approaches to technique. I want Irish dancers to be just as informed about their bodies as any other serious group.
I would like to see dancers utilize the true musical potential of the dance (especially hardshoe!). I would like the rhythms we are taught and perfect to be used in actual music-making. In my dreams, There is an indie band with no drums, just hardshoe (ok, maybe several hardshoe dancers or a drummer and a dancer--we would get tired), and the dancing is not viewed as a gimmick. The music should not be forced to be Irish/"Celtic" in nature.
I would like to see abstract Irish choreography (such as can be seen in competition and in the shows of many schools) to be done professionally. Irish dancers have little reason to presume that they can make excellent dance-dramas-- this is not what we are trained in! This is not where our strengths lie, and we generally end up producing simplistic drivel when we try (as evidenced by many a professional troupe's efforts).
However, I would also like to see experimental, and perhaps thematic works of heft. Irish dance is so much more expressive, simply as movement, than we generally let it be in choreography. We should utilize the inherent potential of our form. We should also not be afrsid to work with ideas which may not be accepted by the mass market. Most art does not spring from what is commercially acceptable.
I would like to see us retain the sense of community which seems to be quickly dissipating (perhaps as a result of popularization).
We should focus less on little girls, and should not stop dancing when we reach a certain age.
We should not feel so restrained by extreme beauty ideals; not everyone needs to wear a tiara.
We should increase documentation, and we should be able to talk about the history of our art intelligently. This is my personal goal.
We should explore small group choreography-- a focus on duets limits the number of scenarios which can be presented, and large groups are difficult to maintain and grow within, and dehumanize the performer (this is not necessarily a bad thing, but, again, limits the number of ideas which can be portrayed).
Teachers and choreographers should collaborate more; we should eschew politics in favor of better dancing.
I would like to see more open channels of communication between Irish dancers and other dancers/artists.
Elizabeth Venable
4-29-00
