The world has burgeoned in all aspects over the last few centuries. In its current existence, very few facets of human life remain the same as they did centuries ago. Of the many facets that have undergone considerable growth are the arts.
When we hear arts, we typically think of classical music or the most cosmopolitan definition - art in the form of painting or sculpture. There is one which I have a growing affinity for that is often not given much credence as art. We briefly heard about it in a TED Talk about the need for a revolution in education - that's right, dance.
Dance is an art-form that has permeated our history as humans, a visual representation of self-expression that is as old as music itself. Though there is no trace of primitive dance as it does not leave visible evidence such as stone tools for hunting, every dance style that exists today has at least one commonality with every other dance type because the vast number of styles and sub-styles all had common ancestors at some point.
But this blog is not about dance history.
I firmly believe that in order to fully engage in any activity and become outstanding at whatever that pursuit is, one must first appreciate it. Appreciation is more than just gaining pleasure from any activity - it is understanding every single detail, both inconspicuous and blatant traits, and comprehending how each feature of that activity seamlessly works together. Appreciation is the first step in mastering a skill because it widens the horizons to multiple perspectives about that activity which in turn inspires the growth and development of your own unique viewpoint of that endeavor. This revelation came to me in the form of dance.
I was always fascinated by the eye-popping, high-energey exhibitions of breakdancing, but one day my friend shared a link with me about two dancers whose style he enjoyed. I decided to give it a watch. At first my expression was "Wow, they're good," but I later began to pick up on the minute details, the brilliance of their choreography, the exquisite precision of their moves, the swift yet crisp execution of their moves. My expression changed to "My goodness! They are masters!". Dancing is more than just a fluid movement of body parts as some would believe, it is a culmination of well-executed physical moves as well as facial expressions and gestures that can be used to convey a message. It is self-expression that can be used to tell a story, use movements that create an illusion or particular image, or even just to show off skill.
This is when it occurred to me - not many people are exposed to this art and therefore cannot appreciate it. A subject such as this can be somewhat difficult for some to grasp through mere words, and as they say,"Seeing is believing," so I urge you to watch this brief video of the two dancers I had mentioned above as they perfectly execute a concept known as Beatkill (perfect synchronization of body and music throughout moves in the dance freestyle), notice how one dancer uses the music to create a totally animatronic appearance and how his brother uses the same music to create the image of a fluid android: Les Twins Beatkill
And for those of you who enjoyed that video and have 8 minutes to spare, this is a link to the original video sent to me by my friend which, in my opinion, is the epitome of modern dance: Les Twins WOD 2010.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and wet your feet a little in the world of dance. Hopefully your horizon has been broadened and you appreciate a new style of dance.
Kylesh Sharma
:D
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