BeezwaxDance is a collective of dancers that want to challenge the traditional roles of choreographers and dancers. Instead of a single choreographer applying for funding and hiring dancers, BeezwaxDance wants dancers to collectivize and form their own groups based on mutual aesthetic goals and work together to find funding and hire choreographers that interest them.
My BeezwaxDance Philosophy:
My feeling is that the contemporary dance world is quietly closing in on itself. Audiences are becoming smaller and smaller with its members consisting more and more of those working specifically in the contemporary dance field. Long time dance aficionados are turning away from contemporary dance productions towards state ballet and theater companies to satiate their dance viewing needs. Those dance viewing novices who do venture into the contemporary dance scene find themselves alienated at the performances, either blaming themselves for not “getting it” or simply put-off and bored. While it is true that dance has a history of being the most ghetto-ized or under-appreciated and under-funded performance art, I believe that today’s contemporary dance climate is more hostile than anything we have seen in a long time. Though a large part of this situation can be blamed on external circumstances outside the reach of those working in the contemporary dance field, I feel that our current approach to contemporary dance and its performance has much to do with our present state of public neglect.
I believe in the body and its expressive capabilities. Whether it is a simple expression of the ecstasy of movement or a complex declaration of emotional anguish, the dancing body has a powerful ability to communicate in a language that is seemingly cross-cultural and without boundaries. However, like any other language, dance’s effectiveness in communication is reliant upon both the skill with which the language is used and the thoughtful consideration of those to which something is being communicated. It is in both these fields that I feel much of the contemporary dance scene has lost its way. This is of course a gross generalization and I haven’t the space (nor do you have the time for me) to make an expansive and conclusive analysis of the above statement. However, the point that I want to stress is that it is this relationship between the form of communication and the intended audience for that communication that, for me, is the most important factor in a dance and which, unfortunately, has often been considered trivial or old-fashioned by those who use dance in a dialogue inclusive only of those within the field and by those who both expect the audience to do all the interpretative work and at the same time are so doubtful of the audience’s abilities that they hardly bother to start a conversation with them. I think that this is a real shame. Dance is, after all, a performance art.
As an artist, I am interested in both participating in and creating dances that try to answer the question of how the moving body can best communicate an idea to a concerned audience. This first requires a belief in the integrity of dance, as a language, and the integrity of the audience, or humans in general, in the reception of this language. The question of technique and how it can best be utilized in achieving this goal then comes into play, as well as an understanding of the experiential skills that an audience brings to the theater. I realize that this is a difficult undertaking and that its premise is not a particularly new one. One may say that this has been the intention of dance since its beginnings. However, I feel that this most basic tenet of dance is precisely what has been ignored in much recent dance and it is my hope that I may become part of a creative community that will work together to bring the powerful (and powerfully communicative) language of the moving body back to the forefront of dance.
Laura Weiss
contact: info@beezwaxdance.org