What the title 'Ideas In Experimental Dance' means

Well I guess it would be prudent to start the first post at the beginning. And that beginning would be why I choose to title this blog ‘Ideas In Experimental Dance’. First off what I do is experimental illusional dance. I attempt to exploit people’s preconceived notions about the body and the space surrounding the body. Not exactly a true manipulation of the physical world but an exploitation of a viewer’s mental construct of the physical world. I draw my main inspiration for movement from miming, popping, liquid, turfing, flexing, jooking and other various emerging underground dance styles. None of these styles are necessarily experimental by themselves (although they may seem so because of their underground nature). They all have various general rules the participants must abide by while attempting to be creative. The reason I call my style ‘experimental’ is because I try and combine ideas in new fresh ways. Breaking the rules of those other dances and attempting to combine ideas and movements in unorthodox and interesting ways.

Now if you noticed I used the word ‘ideas’. The reason I use that word is because I don’t want my dance to be immutable. I want there to be fluidity so that my dance can change. Other dances apply the concept of general rules. Or certain limitations that must be applied for the dancer to be doing the style correctly or to, in some cases, even be considered dancing. Those are beliefs. Beliefs can not be changed as easily as ideas. Beliefs are held to be true. Ideas are malleable constructs that can be added to or taken away from. Or to give a more succinct metaphor: a belief is a rock, an idea is clay. I don’t have a belief system that I apply to my dance. I simply apply ideas. If an idea about movement or musical interpretation looks good (to me) or has the potential to look good I keep it. If another idea doesn’t work for me I toss it or try to reformat it to work. Even if that idea is held as an immutable belief in another system of dance that no one would dare go against. I don’t have beliefs about dance, and I try and stay away from forming beliefs. That is easier said then done. But in order to have my creativity at full capacity I can’t have restrictions. This is why I consider my dance experimental. There are no rules. Instead I am more of a dance bounty hunter taking the best ideas from other dances flipping them and reconceptualizing them to suit my own vision.

Now with that said and me making such a stink about not having beliefs I do have one idea that borders on being a belief. Like I said having ideas and not beliefs is easier said than done. Often times I find myself entrenched in an idea that has become a belief and I have to reevaluate it in order to hold true to my dance’s experimental component (my dance has many components but they all derive from ideas if that makes sense). But like I said I have one idea that borders on being a belief and I’ll explain it in my next post...