Or at least when they don't feel like enough. Sometimes there are things I just don't know how one could adequately capture in words, and maybe it just isn't possible. But I don't want to leave it at that. I really do think words have the power to be the most powerful and most lasting medium, and I want to take them absolutely as far as they can go. If that means looking at what other mediums have to offer, then by all means I say let's look.
I don't know how many of you watch So You Think You Can Dance, but although I've been thinking about this subject for a long time, years even, it's this show that's finally made up my mind to write about it. See, to me dance is one of those things where it seems like words aren't enough. I live for those moments of being blown away, and every once in a while this show will do that. Especially choreographers like Mia Michaels or Travis Wall, who create the most incredible characters and stories. But like I said, I don't want to leave it there. It may seem like we can't do in words what they do in dance, but how true is that? Last night Twitch and Sasha gave one of the greatest SYTYCD performances of all time, and let's take their dance as an example. How would you tell this story in words?
Does anyone have the guts to try? I would love to see what you come up with. But really though, how would you put this scene into words? How can you really capture the pulse of movement when she slaps the table in the beginning? Or the jaw-droppingness when she flips up into the back bend and he pushes her the rest of the way? Or the way he touches her face when he carries her off at the end?
The basic truth here, though, plain and simple, is that we're dealing with two different mediums, and that one medium does one thing and the other does something else. They each have pros and cons. Yes, dance is more visceral, but writing could give these two characters back story and depth and complexity. But how can we take the best of dance and use it in writing? Is language itself raw and visceral enough? How do we take the rhythm and musicality and athleticism and passion of this dance and transfer it to the medium of words? I don't think its possible to successfully transfer from one medium to any other 100%, but still. How do we try?
What do you think?
Sarah Allen
7 comments:
Oh, I like this idea. I have a few experiences like this, not with dance but with music. Once I had an assignment in school to take the actual notes of a song (from the sheet music) and write a scene to it, which was totally trippy... I recommend it as an exercise.
Music is a huge part of my novel and translating the experience of listening and playing music to the written word has been VERY challenging. But in a good way :-)
Reminds me of a Cialis commercial and she wasn't going to wait for the right moment. She was gonna make it happen.
You got me thinking. Great. Fantabulous. Awesome post!
Great dancing transcends words. And you are right, that is exactly what is so awesome about it!
Being a mom of dancers who are addicted to SYTYCD, this post really hit home for me.
Thanks!
Shelley
Sooo Beautiful Fantastic Write Up!
Short Poems
I clicked the video thinking it might be an interesting experiment...and I was blown away. I've got no words for that performance.
Sara, I think metaphors are the answer (but I think metaphors are the answer to lots of problems). We can convey so much more with a well placed metaphor than we can with a page full of description. The artistry involved in using effective metaphors might rival the artistry of dance (metaphorically speaking).
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