Art

It took me a long time to consider myself an artist. I think that often most people don't see the performing arts (dance, theatre) as "artful" as the visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, etc). I'm not sure why that is. But I think I'm at a point where I look at what I do as a teacher and choreographer and see that it's art. Most of the time it means my students are contributing the most to the art but my hand is certainly in it. My mind has also been opened more to the idea that a lot of things are artful. Such as crafting (knitting, quilting, etc); have you ever seen an Amish quilt? If that's not art I'm not sure what is. Stephen and I often discuss the question of what is art? To me art is anything that is tangible, able to be seen/heard, mentally comprehended, and has "life" in it. And by life I mean emotion or symbolism or a message of some sort. It may be that the creator didn't intend it to be artful. Perhaps it's a child dancing to their favorite song, or a girl snapping a candid photo of a friend, or someone making up a song off the top of their head to sing to their significant other. These things can be fleeting and quick and sometimes silly but what's to say it's not art? I've come a long way in my thought process about this. I used to be certain that art could only exist with training and technique, although I do still believe that there is great value in those things, I've come to realize it's not necessary. I think what finally solidified this in my mind was something that happened this weekend. We had a performance at the studio where I teach and I had a piece in it that had five girls and women. One of the women in the dance has only been dancing since September and she has not yet mastered the technique of dance. But there was a point when I looked at her while she was performing and it was beautiful what I saw: passion, complete immersion in the moves. It was truly at that moment I was able to see what art can be and not what it should be. Again, that is not to say that anyone can be a great painter or a great actor. I do believe you need training and diligence and a natural inclination. But I am definitely going to be looking for art in places I never have before.