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“Stay in your Lane” ,  ” there is room for everyone”   “there is room at the top”

These are the words that are constantly being tossed around like a basketball in dance, and  though they are meant to be words of encouragement, are they really?

or are they just sympathy cards that are used to disguise , the ever so need to maintain an image, a legacy , a relevance, a payroll, without seeming selfish  after all it is all about the survival of the fittest

I had an amazing conversation the other day , with a fellow dancer, about how in most of the dance competitions and events that are created and evolving, that for all of the hundreds of opportunities that are being created for dance and about dance, how we always see the same few handful of people ,teaching, judging, and dancing, the same way , over and over again, as if the culture is built off of a mere handful of people..kind of a “secret society you have to belong to”  of sorts…under the guise of “family”

While there are so many more artists and dancers from the culture, spawning from the generations , who have put in just as much time and sweat on the dance floor, have so much to offer to provide a more clearer picture, to the richness, the variety , and depth of a culture’s evolution,

Sadly, their voice, their presence, never get to be seen or heard…..because of the shadow of perception: Popularity=Legitimacy=Truth….

and because we have fallen to believe, that there are only a handful of ambassadors to the culture when there is so much more.

We want to talk about unity, and love, etc, but when do we get to talk about introducing the masses, and actually talking about the many artists that the world has yet to have had the pleasure to see, or experience or their contributions to the development and promotion of certain styles. we are so quick to undermine or disregard the others……..how can we tell people to learn “history” when truthfully, we hold it back, for our own self preservation.

I believe, that there is not ONE method, or style, or point of view, that will give you all the answers that took a collective group of individuals and a culture to create. Its simply impossible. So many aspiring dancers, fall under the spell of a dancer cause they are famous, and go forth in their dance education with blinders on without really exploring the cultural forces or other influences that are behind it  …in the name of loyalty and for the sake of creating a name for themselves when in reality, they only see maybe a tenth of the picture.  And once again, the art and fun of it , suffers….

so if there is room for everyone, then why not open the door for everyone, and explore?

 

 

 

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The Price of Validation